























































































































\ °v Q 4o 



















■ 1 : i i 


















- 






























































■ 


















ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 

INCLUDING 

THE COFFER-DAM PROCESS FOR PIERS. 

FOWLER. 

































u 

} 












I 



















































X 







































The Pont du Gard, Nimes, France. 














ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


INCLUDING 

THE COFFER-DAM PROCESS 

FOR PIERS. 


WITH 

NUMEROUS PRACTICAL EXAMPLES 
PROM ACTUAL WORK. 


BY 


CHARLES EVAN FOWLER, 

Civil Engineer," 

Member American Society of Civil Engineers , 

Member Society /or the Promotion of Engineering Education , 
President Pacific Northwest Society of Engineers , 
President Seattle Board of Park Commissioners. 


“ Much of the success of any one in any kind of work, and especially in 
work subject to the peculiar difficulties of that we are considering, depends 
upon the spirit in which it is undertaken.”— Arthur M ellen Wellington. 


SECOND EDITION , REVISED AND ENLARGED . 

FIRST THOUSAND. 


NEW YORK: 

JOHN WILEY & SONS. 
London: CHAPMAN & HALL, Limited. 

1906 

4) ) , 

> ) > 

> > 

) > y 





Copyright, 1898, as “ The Coffer-dam Process for Piers.” 

Copyright, 1904, as “ Ordinary Foundations, Including the Colfer-dam Process for Piers.” 

BY 

C. E. FOWLER. 

'Gift 

Bid hoy B. Hill 
Get. SI 1935 


ROBERT DRUMMOND, PRINTER, NEW YORK 



PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 


The necessity for a second edition of this book has made 
it possible to make valuable additions to the text, by which the 
subject of ordinary foundations is more comprehensively covered. 
The construction of piers by the use of metal cylinders; with 
timber caissons by open dredging; and the construction of ordinary¬ 
sized foundations by the use of pneumatic caissons, has furnished 
another chapter. A chapter has been added on the subject of 
foundations, which covers the bearing capacity of soils. 

The new chapter on building stone, masonry, and the design 
of piers is intended to supplement the old chapter on the “Loca¬ 
tion and Design of Piers.” 

Enough new matter has been added on cement and concrete 
to form an additional chapter, which includes valuable tables 
giving the amount of material required for concrete of different 
proportions. 

The building of piers of timber and pile bents, together with 
the subject of timber preservation, has been discussed in a final 
chapter, as fully as a general knowledge requires. 

It is hoped that in enlarging the field covered by “The Coffer¬ 
dam Process for Piers,” the book will be more valuable for the 
practicing engineer, besides giving a general enough treatment 
to make it valuable for class work. 

C. E. F. 

Seattle, 1904. 

vii 




INTRODUCTION. 


The greater part of foundation work is of an ordinary 
character. And while difficult foundations have been quite fully 
treated by engineering writers, ordinary ones have too often 
been passed over with mere mention, or treated in such a general 
way that the information proves of little value in actual practice. 

Many valuable examples of work of this character have been 
described in current engineering literature, and it is hoped that 
by bringing them together a real service will be rendered the 
profession, as well as much valuable time be saved for consider¬ 
ing other and equally important problems. 

The history of the coffer-dam process would seem to indicate 
that engineers of nearly a century ago gave more consideration 
to the smaller problems than the engineer of to-day, who has 
apparently passed to the consideration of the larger and of course 
more interesting ones. 

That this is deplorable, is proven by the many cases where 
money has been wasted in the after effort to make good the mis¬ 
takes that have become apparent where cheap construction of 
coffer-dams has been resorted to. The saving in original cost, 
as between an indefensible method and a defensible one, is often 
so small as to seem absurd when it has become necessary to make 
large expenditures to rectify the errors. 

Errors of judgment are more easily excusable with regard 
to foundations than with any other class of construction, but 
where definite limits can be set, economy will result by keeping 
as closely as possible within them. 


IX 



X 


INTRODUCTION 


Reference is made in the following pages to the splendid 
construction of foundations by the Romans, where they could 
be built outside the water. The Pont du Gard, illustrated in 
the frontispiece, is the most notable example of this extant. It 
is interesting also as indicating their knowledge of the better 
form of piers and methods of arch construction. 

Although constructed during the reign of the Emperor Augus¬ 
tus, at the beginning of the Christian era, it is in a remarkable 
state of preservation, aside from repairs that have been made 
from time to time. 

Probably the earliest recorded examples of the use of coffer¬ 
dams which give details of construction are those constructed 
under the engineers of the Ponts et Chaussees. 

Those built under Perronet at the bridge of Orleans were 
large and extensive, and references made to the pile-drivers and 
the pumps used on the work, serve to illustrate the great amount 
of attention paid to planning the details of construction. 

The same engineer completed the piers of the bridge at Mantes, 
where the coffer-dams were constructed to inclose both the abut¬ 
ment and the nearest pier within one dam, making the dimen¬ 
sions about 150 feet by 200 feet in the extreme. 

Hardly less notable were the coffer-dams at Neuilly, where 
the interiors were so large that the excavation did not approach 
near the inside wall of the dam. 

All of these were constructed prior to the year 1775, and 
the details as shown in the elaborate drawings are of much interest 
to the engineer engaged on similar works. 

The coffer-dams constructed about 1825 by Rennie on the 
new London bridge were the prototypes of those used at Buda 
Pesth, but were elliptical in form. They were designed with 
as much care, apparently, as any other feature of the bridge, 
and from the fact that the water was pumped to twenty-nine feet 
below low water and the work found tight, the details must have 
been very carefully executed. 

However great the amount of care bestowed, there will be 
cases undoubtedly where the difficulties cannot be foreseen, and 


INTRODUCTION. 


xi 


it will become necessary to adopt some of the many expedients 
cited to overcome them; or they might better be employed from 
the start, where any suspicion is had that trouble may ensue. 

The question as to whether it will be best to use a crib or 
a sheet-pile coffer-dam will most always be decided by the charac¬ 
ter of the bottom, the location, and the character of the foundation 
to be built. It is advisable, whichever type is selected, to make 
the size large enough, so that the excavation may be completed 
without approaching too close to the inside wall of the dam, 
and so that plenty of room may be had for the laying of the founda¬ 
tion-courses. 

The unit stress adopted for timber construction is believed 
to be as large as will give good results in the majority of cases, 
both on account of the possibility of the construction having to 
undergo more severe usage than is expected, and on account of 
the grade of timber which is most often made use of for temporary 
works. 

Where it is permissible from the standpoint of true economy, 
it is believed that steel construction will commend itself for use. 
In most localities it will not be long until metal construction will 
be found cheaper than timber for building coffer-dams, and in 
many places this is already true. 

A great mistake is made, in nearly nine cases out of ten, by 
trying to use old machinery, such as hoisting-engines, pumps, 
and the like, which are ill adapted to the purposes for which 
they are intended, on account of lack of capacity, and only too 
often on account of having outgrown their usefulness. 

The engineer would avoid many unpleasant situations by 
demanding that a proper outfit be provided, and in the end gain 
the thanks of the contractor for increased profits. 

Extended acquaintance with Portland cement is increasing 
the use of concrete in construction, and this is a great gain for 
the engineer, as it is not only superior to much stone that is used, 
but is better adapted to use in difficult situations. It also lends 
itself more readily to use for ornamental details in pier construc¬ 
tion. That truly ornamental piers are not, however, those with 


Xll 


INTRODUCTION. 


needless and frivolous details, has been clearly set forth in the 
last article. Simplicity and beauty are near relatives. 

The best locations cannot always be chosen for piers, but 
careful examination will often be the means by which bad loca¬ 
tions may be avoided. 

The methods for determining the economic division of a 
given crossing of a river have not come into general use, probably 
on account of lack of easy application. The method given is an 
accurate one and very simple to use, especially if the results 
are tabulated for a given loading. 

C. E. F. 

New York City, 1900. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER I. 

Historical Development. 

Relation of Foundation to Bridge Design.—Roman and Other Ancient 
Foundations.—Bridge at Shuster, Persia.—Roman Arch at Trezzo. 
—Four Ancient Methods for Foundations.—Method of Open 
Caissons.—Method with Piles and Concrete Capping.—Method of 
Encaissement.—Method of Coffer-dams.—Caesar’s Bridge over the 
Rhine.—Pneumatic Caissons and Coffer-dams Applicable to Dif¬ 
ferent Cases.—Origin of Coffer-dams and Primitive Types.—The 
Hutcheson Bridge at Glasgow.—Robert Stevenson’s Specifications 
for Coffer-dams on Hutcheson Bridge.—Old Directions for Triple¬ 
puddle Coffer-dam in Forty Feet (!) of Tide-water.—W. Tierney 
Clark’s Account of the Great Coffer-dams for the Buda Pesth Sus¬ 
pension Bridge.—Character of Puddle Used.—Class of Work to 
which Coffer dams should be Applied.—Value of Actual Examples.. 


CHAPTER II. 

Construction and Practice.—Crib Coffer-dams. 

Definition of Coffer-dam.—Simple Clay Bank.—Drag Scraper for Remov¬ 
ing Soft Bottom.—Excavating-spoon.—Larger Dredges Mentioned. 
—Crib and Embankment used on Chanoine Dams on Great Kana¬ 
wha River.—Improvised Nasymth Sheet-pile Hammer.—Failure 
on Ohio River because of Porous Bottom.—Crib Coffer-dam with 
Puddle Chamber, C., B. & Q. R.R. — Cribs without Puddle 
Chambers, Can. Pac. Ry.—Cribs of Old Plank, Santa Fe Ry. — 



XIV 


TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


Crib for Arkansas River, St. L. & S. F. Ry.—Sheet-piles Used on 
Santa Fe.—Sheet-piles Used on Union Pacific Ry.—Coffer-dam on 
Grillage, Union Pacific Ry.—Circular Coffer-dam of Staves at Fort 
Madison, la.—Circular Coffer-dam Failure at Walnut St., Phila.— 
Probable Cause of Failure.—Form of Construction to Adopt.— 
Use of Puddle.—Cutwaters.—True Economy of Construction. 


CHAPTER III. 

Construction and Practice.—Cribs and Canvas. 

Stopping Leaks.—Canvas Bulkhead at Keokuk, Iowa.—Canvas Funnel 
for Springs.—Anchoring Cribs and Crib Coffer-dam at St. Louis.— 
Timber Casings Covered with Canvas, Melbourne.—Strength of 
Water-soaked Timber.—Polygonal Crib for Harlem Ship-canal 
Pivot Pier.—Polygonal Crib for Arthur Kill Bridge.—Octagonal 
Crib, Coteau Bridge. 


CHAPTER IV. 

Pile-driving and Sheet-piles. 

Historical Forms of Pile-drivers.—Simple Sheet-pile Driver.—Large 
Pile-driving Derricks.—Machinery for Pile-driving.—Cost of Out¬ 
fits.—Nasmyth Hammers of Various Types.—Loads on Guide- and 
Foundation-piles.—Pulling Piles and Sawing off under Water.— 
Forms of Sheet-piles.—Wakefield Sheet-piling.—Shoes for Sheet- 
piling. 


CHAPTER V. 

Construction with Sheet-piles. 

Water and Puddle Pressure.—Calculation of Sheet-piling.—Size of 
Wales and Struts.—Width of Puddle-chambers.—Guide-piles and 
Guides.—Ann Arbor Sheet-pile and Puddle Coffer-dam, M. C. Rv. 
—Failure with Sheet-piles at Arthur Kill Bridge.—Successful 
Method Adopted.—Sewer Coffer-dam for Boston Sewerage System. 
—Wakefield Sheet-piling.—Harper’s Ferry Coffer-dam.—Momence, 
Ill., Coffer-dam, C. & E. I. Ry.—Sheet-piling for Charlestown 
Bridge Piers.—Polygonal Sheet-pile Reservoir Coffer-dam at Fort 
Monror, Va. . . 






TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


xv 


CHAPTER VI. 

Construction with Sheet-piles (Continued). 

PAGE 

Combinations of Various Forms of Sheet-piles.—Sheet-pile and Puddle 
Coffer-dam, Walnut Street Bridge, Chattanooga.—Framing of 
Cumberland, Md., Coffer-dam.—Sandy Lake Coffer-dam and 
Pile-driving Plant.—Driving Sheet-piles with Water-jet.—Use of 
Sheet-piling on Foundation of Main Street Bridge, Little Rock.— 
Concrete Piers at Little Rock.—Removal of Old Pier at Stettin, 
Germany.—Removal and Repair of Pier in Coosa River, Alabama. 

—Floating Coffer-dam for P. & R. R.R. Bridge over the Schuyl¬ 
kill.—Use of Six-inch Sheet-piles at St. Helier, Jersey.—Stock 
Rammer to Stop Leaks.—Single-pile Coffer-dams, Putney Bridge.— 
Twelve-inch Sheet-piling, Victoria Docks.—Tongue-and-groove 
Sheet-piling, Topeka, Kansas.—Use of Dredging-pump at Topeka. . 78 


CHAPTER VII. 

Metal Construction. 

Thin Steel Shells.—Hawkesbury Oblong Metal Piers.—Vertical and 
Inclined Cutting Edges.—Water-tight Construction.—Pivot Pier 
of Clustered Cylinders.—Double-cylinder Pier.—Russian Orna¬ 
mental Cylinder Piers.—Lighthouse Cylinders.—Calculation of 
Thin Metal Cylinders.—Forth Bridge Metal Coffer-dams.—Forth 
Bridge Circular Granite Piers.—Combined Metal Coffer-dam and 
Pier Base.—Metal Sheet-piles. 94 


CHAPTER VIII. 

Cylinders and Caissons. 

Shop Practice for Cylinder Piers.—Cylinder Piers for Railway Use.— 
Cylinder Piers on Soft Bottom.—Cylinder Piers on Hard Bottom.— 
Cylinder Piers on Grillage.—Cylinder Piers with Crib Protection.— 
Cylinder Piers on Rock.—Piers Built by Open Dredging.—Pier for 
Northern Pacific Railway.—Hendy Hydraulic Elevators.—Piers of 
Fraser River Bridge.—Waddell’s Methods of Open-dredged Piers. 

— Ordinary Foundations by Pneumatic Process. — Pneumatic 
Caissons for Chillicothe, Ohio, Bridge.—Construction of Caissons.— 
Construction of Cribs.—Plant for Sinking Caissons.—Method of 
Sinking Caissons.—Filling Caissons with Concrete. in 




XVI 


TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER IX. 

Pumping and Dredging. 

PAGE 

Amount of Pumping Indicates Success.—Bascule for Pumping.—Chap- 
elet for Pumping.—Bucket-wheel Used at Neuilly.—Box Lift-pump. 

—Metal Lift-pump. — Diaphragm-pump. — Steam-siphons. — Van 
Duzen Jet.—Lansdell Siphon.—Pulsometer Steam-pump.—Maslin 
Automatic Vacuum-pump.—Comparative Efficiency of Centrifugal 
and Reciprocating Pumps.—Tests of Centrifugal Pumps.—Direct- 
connected Engine and Centrifugal Pumps.—Use of Electric Power. 

—Suction pipe Details.—Type and Capacity of Pump.—Methods 
of Priming. — Double-suction Pumps. — Dredging-pumps. — Clam¬ 
shell and Grapple Dredges.—Sand-diggers and Elevator Dredges.—- 
Dipper Dredges. — Cost of Dredging. 130 


CHAPTER X. 

The Foundation. 

Character of Foundation.—Kind of Bottom.—Soft Bottom.—Pile 
Foundation.—Soft Material Overlying Hard Bottom.—Clean Smooth 
Rock.—Sloping Rock.—Rough Rock.—Concrete Levelling Course. 

—Concreting under Water.—Monolithic Concrete Piers.—Con¬ 
crete Piers at Red River.—Monolithic Concrete on Illinois and 
Mississippi Canal.—Requirements for Good Concrete.—Compo¬ 
sition of Concrete.—Contractor’s Plant.—Cableways. 149 


CHAPTER XI. 

The Foundation (Continued). 

Determination of Bearing Capacity of Soil.—Foundation of Capitol at 
Albany, N. Y.—Congressional Library Foundation.—Bismarck 
Bridge Foundations, N. P. Ry.—Suspension Bridge Towers at 
Cincinnati.—Brooklyn Bridge Foundations.—Bridge Foundations 
in London.—Charing Cross Bridge.—Cannon Street Bridge.— 
Foundations of Tower Bridge.—Piers of Memphis, Tenn., Canti¬ 
lever.—Pressure on Foundation Bed of Washington Monument.— 
Gorai Bridge Piers.—Pressure from Nantes Bridge.—Szegedin 
Bridge Foundations.—Rock Foundation, Roquefavour Aqueduct.— 
Baker’s Values for Foundation Loads.—R.ules from New York Citv 
Building Laws. 166 





TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


XVII 


CHAPTER XII. 

Location and Design of Piers. 

PAGB 

Location at Fixed Site.—Location at New Site.—Government Require¬ 
ments.—Examination of Site.—Test-boring Apparatus.—Mississippi 
River Commission Boring Device.—Economical Length of Spans.— 
Ottewall’s Formula for Economic Span.—Morison’s Design for Piers. 

—Omaha Union Pacific Piers.—Russian Piers.—Obstruction Caused 
by Piers.—Cresy’s Experiments on the Obstruction Caused by Piers. 

—Correlation of Theoretical Form and Architectural Design. 182 


CHAPTER XIII. 

Location and Design of Piers (Continued). 

Stone Used for Piers.—Granite, Sandstone, Marble, and Limestone 
Production.—Quality of Stone.—Color of Stone.—Stone Subjected 
to Change of Temperature.—Effect of Abrasion.—Mineralogical 
Composition of Stone.—Testing of Stone.—Crushing Strength of 
Various Stones.—Tables of Comparative Strength.—Effect of 
Method of Quarrying.—Methods of Quarrying Granite, Sandstone, 
Marble, and Limestone.—Cutting to Size by Stone-saws.—Machines 
for Planing and Dressing Stone.—Lathes for Turning Stone.— 

The Methods of Rubbing Stone.—Designing the Footing Courses.. 196 


CHAPTER XIV. 

Cement and Concrete. 

Earliest Use of Cement.—First Real Portland Cement.—Manufacture 
of Portland and Natural Cements in United States.—Grinding of 
Cement.—Storing of Cement at Works.—Storing Cement on Con¬ 
tracts.—Packing of Cement.—German Versus English Cements.— 
Testing of Cement.—Cement Specifications.—Thacher’s General 
Specifications for Concrete.—Steel Bridges.—Requirements on 
U. S. Government Work.—Requirements of Cities.—Proportions 
of Concrete.—Thacher’s Tables of Quantity of Concrete Materials. 

—Fowler’s Discussion of Concrete Proportions.—Fowler’s Table 
of Quantity of Concrete Materials.—Tests of Various Cements by 
Major Powell of U. S. Engineers.—Tests of Various Cements by 
City of Seattle. 213 




Kvm 


TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER XV. 

Timber Piers and Timber Preservation. 

PAGE 

Construction of Piers.of Piling and Timber.—Piling in Fresh and in Salt 
Water.—Pile Piers, Puget Sound Electric Ry.—Quality of Piling 
and Timber Used.—Cost of Material.—Raging River Bridge Piers, 

N. P. Ry.—Obtaining the Timber.—Framing and Erection.—Life 
of Timber Piers.—Designing of Piers of Timber.—Strength of 
Timber. — Report of Railway Superintendents’ Association. — 
Formulae for Timber Columns.—Factors of Safety.—Hibbs’ Com¬ 
parative Tests, of Douglas Fir and Yellow Pine.—Hibbs’ Conclu¬ 
sions from Tests.—Table of Ultimate Strength of Timber.—Table 
of Safe Strength of Timber.—Short Life of Timber.—Destruction 
by Marine Animals.—Action, of Teredo.—Protection Afforded by 
Bark.—Protection by Wrappings.—Protection by Creosoting.— 
Other Methods of Protection.—Description of Creosoting Process.— 

Cost of Creosoting.—A Modern Creosoting Plant. 232 

APPENDICES. 

I. Specifications, Ohio River Movable Dams. 259 

II. Extracts from Topeka Bridge Specifications. 268 

III. Extracts from Katte’s Masonry Specifications. 273 

IV. Specifications for Steel Coffer-dam. 276 

V. Specifications for Cement. Am. Soc. for Testing Materials. 278 

VI. Metal Sheet-piling. 283 

TABLES. 

I. Tube Weights and Quantities. 112 

II. Tests showing Strength of Stone. 203 

III. Tests showing Strength of Stone. 205 

IV. Mateiral for Concrete. 222 

V. Material for Concrete. 223 

VI. Portland Cement Concrete. 225 

VII. Tensile Strength of Cement, U. S. Government. 226 

VIII. Tensile Strength of Cement, City of Seattle. 231 

IX. Ultimate Strength of Timber. 244 

X. Safe Strength of Timber. 245 

XI. Standard Centrifugal Pumps. 293 

XII. Hydraulic Dredging- and Sand-pumps. 293 

XIII. Revolutions at which Pumps should Run. 294 

XIV. Sizes of Single-drum Hoisting-engines. 294 

XV. Sizes of Double-drum Hoisting-engines. 295 





























TABLE OF COFFER-DAMS — 


6 

2 

Page. 

River and Location. 

Current. 

Water 

mead. 

Character of Bottom. 

I 

6 

River 200 feet wide, Ohio. 

None. 

12' 4 - 

Cemented gravel. 

2 

7 

Clyde at Glasgow. 

Slight. 

9 ' + 

Gravel, sand, mud. 

3 

9 

Estuary or Harbor. 

Tide. 

40' 

Sand & gravel over cl. 

4 

10 

Danube at Buda Pesth. 

Swift. 

54 ' ± 

Gravel over clay. 

5 

17 

Kanawha near mouth. 

Swift. 

34 '- 

Gravel over hard-pan. 

6 

18 

Ohio near head. 

Moderate. 

20' + 

Gravel. 

7 

19 

Western part United States . . . 

Moderate. 

6' + 

Soft. 

8 

20 

St. Lawrence, lower river. 

Swift. 

20' 4 - 

Rock. 

9 

20 

Arnprior Bridge. 

Swift. 

21' 4 - 

Rock. 

IO 

2 3 

New Mexico, underflow. 

None. 

L 5 ' + 

Sand. 

ii 

2 3 

Arkansas at Tulsa. 

Moderate. 

7 ' + 

Gravel over rock. 

12 

2 3 

Western part United States . . . 

Moderate. 

6' + 

Soft. 

J 3 

2 3 

Republican in Kansas. 

Moderate. 

6' + 

Sandy. 

14 

2 3 

Western part United States . . . 

Moderate. 

7 ' + 

Gravel over soapstone. 

15 

2 3 

Western part United States . . . 

Moderate. 

6' + 

Rock. 

16 

2 3 

Payette and Weiser, Union Pac. 

Moderate. 

6' 

Soft. 

17 

2 5 

Mississippi, Fort Madison. . . . 

Swift. 

19' 

Soft. 

iS 

2 5 

Schuylkill near Phila., Pa. 

Moderate. 

Deep. 

Mud over rock. 

19 

35 

U. S. Canal, Keokuk. 

None. 

12' 4- 

Rock. 

20 

39 

Mississippi, St. Louis. 

Swift. 

2 2 ' 

Rock. 

21 

40 

Queen’s Bridge. 

Swift. 

US' 

Rock. 

22 

43 

Harlem Ship Canal. 

Moderate. 

2 5 ' 

Rock. 

2 3 

43 

Arthur Kill Bridge. 

Tide. 

28' 

Clay over rock. 

24 

45 

Coteau Bridge, C. Pac. Rv.. . . 

Moderate. 

28' 

Rock. 

2 5 

68 

Ann Arbor, Mich., M. C. Rv. . 

Moderate. 

6' 4 - 

Gravel. 

26 

68 

Arthur Kill Bridge. 

Tide. 

3 °'~ 

Mud and clay. 

27 

70 

Boston Harbor, sewer. 

Tide. 

1 o' 

Sand and gravel. 

28 

73 

Illinois River, La Grange. 

Moderate. 

7 ' 

Sand and mud. 

2 9 

73 

Kankakee at Momence. 

Moderate. 

6' 4 - 

Rock. 

30 

74 

Potomac at Harper’s Ferry. . . 

Swift. 

6' + 

Rock. 

3 i 

74 

Charlestown Bridge, Boston.. . 

Tide. 

6' + 

Soft. 

3 2 

74 

Fort Monroe, sewer. 

None. 

20' 

Soft. 

33 

78 

Tennessee at Chattanooga. . . . 

Swift. 

8' 4 - 

Gravel over rock. 

34 

79 

Cumberland, Md. 

Moderate. 

10' 4 - 

Sand over hard-pan. 

35 

80 

Mississippi, Sandv Lake. 

Swift. 

8' 4 - 

Sand. 

36 

83 

Arkansas, Little Rock. 

Moderate. 

6 ' + 

Sand. 

37 

84 

Parnitz, Stettin, Germany. . . . 
Coosa, Gadsden, Ala. 

Moderate. 

2 5 ' + 

Clav. 

33 

87 

Moderate. 

10' 4- 

Gravel over rock. 

39 

88 

Schuylkill, P. & R.R.R. 

Swift. 

8' + 

Rock. 

40 

91 

St. Helier Bridge, Jersey, Eng. 

Tide. 

13' 4 - 

Earth over rock. 

41 

9 2 

Thames at Putney. 

Moderate. 

Deep. 

Mud. 

42 

92 

Victoria (B. C.) Docks. 

Tide. 

35 ' 

Rock. 

43 

92 

Kaw at Topeka. 

Swift. 

6'4- 

Sand. 

44 

IOI 

Firth of Forth. 

Tide. 

15' + 

Rock. 


XX 





























































SYNOPSIS OF EXAMPLES. 


i 

Form of 
Construction. 

Inside 

Dimensions. 

Kind of Puddle 

Thick¬ 

ness 

Puddle. 

Remarks. 

Page. 

d 

£ 

Earth bank. 

io'X 60' ? 

Clay and gravel. 

5 ' + 

No leaks. 

6 

I 

Sheet-piles. 

2o'X 58' ? 

Clay. 

3 ' 


7 

2 

Sheet-piles. 

Large. 

Clay, sand & gravel. 

3-6' 

Typical. 

9 

3 

Sheet-piles. 

72'X i 3 6 ' + 

Clay and gravel. 

2-5' 

Difficult. 

10 

4 

Earth bank. 

qo'X 33 °' 

Clay and gravel. 

19' + 


17 

5 

Earth bank. ? 

200'X 600' 

Clay and gravel. 


Failed. 

18 

6 

Crib. 

Medium. 

Clay. 

3 ' + 


*9 

7 

Crib, single. 

24 'X 43 ' 

Concrete inside. 



20 

8 

Crib, single. 

i 6 'X 34 ' 

Concrete inside. 



20 

9 

Crib, single. 

i 7 'X 43 ' 

Clay outside. 


Special. 

23 

10 

Crib, single. 

Medium. 

Clay outside. 



2 3 

11 

Sheet-piles. 

Medium. 



Typical. 

23 

12 

Sheet-piles. 

Medium. 

Clay outside. 



23 

13 

Sheet-piles. 

Medium. 

Clay outside. 



23 

14 

Sheet-piles. 

Medium. 

Clay. 

j Equal 
( depth. 


23 

15 

Box or crib. 

12'X 36' 

None. 


On grillage. 

23 

16 

Staves. 

36' diatn. 

None. 


On grillage. 

25 

i 7 

Sheet-piles. 

80' diam. 

None. 


Failed. 

25 

18 

Canvas on plank. 

80' long. 

Rotten manure. 


Bulkhead. 

35 

19 

Crib, double. 

28'X 64' 

Clay. 

3 ' 0" 

Canvas used. 

39 

20 

Box and canvas. 

Square. 

Clay outside. 


Movable. 

40 

21 

Polygon crib. 

47' diam. 

Clay. 

4' 6" 


43 

22 

Polygon crib. 

44' diam. 

Clay and gravel. 

5' 0" 


43 

23 

Crib, single. 

34' diam. 

Concrete inside. 



45 

24 

Sheet-piles. 

i 3 'X 44 ' 

Clay and gravel. 

2' 8" 


68 

25 

Sheet-piles. 

Large. 

None. 


Two trials. 

68 

26 

Sheet-piles. 

12' wide. 

Clay. 

6-8' 


70 

27 

Sheet-piles. 

Medium. 

None. 



73 

28 

Sheet-piles. 

Medium. 

Gravel. 


Two trials. 

73 

29 

Sheet-piles. 

Medium. 

Gravelly clay. 



74 

3 ° 

Sheet-piles. 

18' 6"X 119' 

Concrete inside. 



74 

3 1 

Sheet-piles. 

44' diam. 

Sand and concrete. 

7 ' + 


74 

32 

Sheet-piles. 

Large. 

Clay. 

9' 0" 


78 

33 

Sheet-piles. 

I 5 'X 5 °' 

None. 



79 

34 

Sheet-piles. 

829' long. 

Clay. 

8'± 


8c 

35 

Sheet-piles. 

16'X 38' 

Earth outside. 



8 3 

v_. 

3 6 

Sheet-piles. 

23 'X 55 '± 

Clay. 

2-4' 

Removal. 

84 

37 

Sheet-piles. 

28'X 28' ± 

Clay. 

12' + 

Removal. 

87 

38 

Sheet-piles. 

i6'X42' 

Clay and gravel. 

8' + 

Movable. 

88 

39 

Sheet-piles. 

Medium. 

Clay outside. 



9 * 

4 C 

Sheet-piles. 

Medium. 

None. 



9: 

4 i 

Sheet-piles. 

300' long. 

Clay. 

2-7' 


9: 

42 

Sheet-piles. 

18'X 55' 

Clay outside. 



92 

43 

Metal. 

60' diam. 

Concrete seal. 



IOI 

44 


xxi 










































LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


F IG - PAGE 

The Pont du Gard, Nimes, France. Frontispiece 

1. Bridge at Shuster, Persia, over the River Karun. 3 

2. Bridge over the Adda at Trezzo, Milan. 4 

3. Ciesar’s Bridge over the Rhine. 5 

4. A Primitive Solution. (Earth-bank Coffer-dam.). 7 

5. Coffer dam in Tide-water. (Sheet-piles and Puddle.). 10 

6. Buda Pesth Suspension Bridge. (Puddle Coffer-dam.). n 

7. Buda Pesth Suspension Bridge, Plan of Coffer-dam No. 3. 13 

8. Scraper Dredge. (For Drag Dredging, C. & M. V. Ry.). 16 

9. Coffer dam at Dam No. 11, Gt. Kanawha River. (Earth and Crib.) 17 

10. Crib Coffer-dam, C., B. & Q. R.R. (With Puddle-chamber.)... 19 

11. St. Lawrence River Bridge, C. P. Ry. (Crib and Coffer-dam.). 21 

12. Arnprior Bridge, C. P. Ry. (Crib and Coffer-dam.). 21 

13. Crib Coffer-dam, A., T. & S. F. Ry. (No Puddle-chamber.).. .. 24 

14. Coffer-dam on Grillage, Payette and Weiser Rivers, U. P. Ry.. .. 26 

15. Coffer-dam on Grillage, Fort Madison Bridge, A., T. & S. F. Ry. . 28 

16. A Crib Coffer-dam after a Flood. (Showing Plant.). 29 

17. Apparatus used to Force Clay into Crevice of Rock. (Leak.). 34 

18. Details of Canvas and Plank Bulkhead, Keokuk, la. 35 

19. Inside View of Bulkhead, Lock pumped Dry, Keoku’', la. 37 

20. Canvas Funnel for Closing Leaks. (Springs.). 38 

21. Cribs for Anchoring St. Louis Coffer-dam. (Crib and Puddle.)... 39 

22. Details of Coffer-dam, Arthur Kill Bridge. (Crib and Puddle.).. 42 

23. Polygonal (Crib) Coffer-dam. Harlem Ship-canal Bridge. 44 

24. Coffer-dam for Pivot Pier, Coteau Bridge. (Crib.). 44 

25. Perronet’s Pile-driver. (Historical; Man-power.). 47 

26. Perronet’s Bull-wheel Pile-driver. (Historical; Horse-power.). 47 

27. Sheet-pile Driver. (Hand-power Derrick.)'.. 48 

28. Pile-driver Derrick for Use on a Scow. 49 

29. Lidgerwood Pile-driving Derrick. 51 

xxiii 



























XXIV 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FIG. PAGE 

30. Hammer with Nippers. (For Horse-power.). 51 

31. Pile-driving Scow, New York State Canals. (Steam.). 53 

32. Warrington-Nasmyth Steam Piie-hammer. 54 

33. Warrington-Nasmyth Hammer, Fair Haven Bridge. 55 

34. Cram-Nasmyth Steam Pile-hammer. 56 

35. Machine for Sawing off Piles under Water. 57 

36. Pile-pulling Lever. (Hand-power.). 58 

37. Pile-pulling Scow, New York State Canals. (Steam.). 59 

38. Sheet-piles and Sheet-pile Details. 60 

39. Charlestown Bridge. Driving Wakefield Sheet-piling. 61 

40. Arrangement and Diagrams of Sizes for Sheet-pile Coffer- dams.... 64 

41. Sheet-pile Guides and Clamps. 67 

42. Coffer-dam for Ann Arbor Bridge, M. C. Ry. (Sheet-piles and 

Puddle.). 69 

43. Sewer Coffer-dam, Poston Sewerage System. (Sheet-piles and 

Puddle.). 71 

44. Wakefield Sheet-piling. (Details.). 72 

45. Type of Momence and Harper’s Ferry Coffer-dams. (Sheet-piling.) 74 

46. Coffer-dam on Charlestown Bridge. (Sheet-piling.). 73 

47. Reservoir Coffer-dam, Fort Monroe, Va. (Sheet-piling.). 76 

48. Compound Sheet-pile. 78 

49. Chattanooga Bridge, Bed-rock Pier No. 3. 79 

50. Framework of Coffer-dam, Cumberland, Md. (Sheet-piling.). 81 

51. Sandy Lake Coffer-dam. (Sheet-piling.). 82 


52. Coffer-dam and Concrete Pier, Little Rock, Ark. (Sheet-piling.). . 85 

53. Removal of Masonry Pier at Stettin, Germany. (Sheet-piling.). . . 87 

54. Coosa River Coffer-dam. (Sheet-piling.). 

55. Stock Rammer. (For Packing Clay to Stop Leaks.). 

56. Topeka Bridge Coffer-dam. (Sheet-piling.). 

57. Hawkesbury Bridge, Caisson No. 6. (Metal Shell.). 

58. Group of Cylinders for Pivot Pier. (Metal Shells.). 

59. Pier of Two Cylinders, Victoria Bridge. (Metal Shells.). 

60. Circular Saw for Cutting off Piles under Water. 

61. Cylinder-pier Bridge, Riga-Orel R.R., Russia. (Metal Shells.). . . 

62. Cylinder Piers, with Diaphragm. (Metal Shells.). 

63. Circular Granite Pier, Forth Bridge. 

64. Forth Bridge. (Metal Coffer-dam.). 

65. Forth Bridge. (Circular Granite Pier and Metal Coffer-dam.) ... 

66. Friestedt Sheet-piling. (Section of Pile and Corner.). 

67. Coffer-dam, C. B. & Q. Ry., with Friestedt Piling. 

68. Order Diagram Cylinder Piers. (Sizes and Arrangement.). 

69. Design for Cylinder Piers. (On Hard Bottom and Piles.). 


95 

97 

98 

99 

100 

101 

102 

103 

107 

108 

109 

Ir 3 




































LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . 


XXV 


FIG. 

70. Cylinder Pier with Crib. (On Grillage.). 

71. Pier for Northern Pacific Ry. (Detail Plan.). 

72. Hendy Hydraulic Elevator. 

7 . 3 - Caisson Northern Pacific Pier. (Ready for Launching.). 
74 * Pneumatic Caisson, Chillicothe, Ohio. (Detail Plan.). 

75. Calking Caisson No. 2, Chillicothe, Ohio. 

76. Caisson No. 1 on Ways, Chillicothe Ohio. 

77. Setting Footing Courses No. 2. 

78. Old Bascule Pump. (Hand-power.). 

79. Old Chapelet, Side Elevation. (Water-power Pump.) 

80. Old Chapelet, End Elevation. (Water-power Pump.) . 

81. Hand-pump, Soldered Joints. 

82. Hand-pump, Screw Joints. 

83. Diaphragm-pump. (Hand-power.). 

84. Van Duzen Jet-pump. (Steam-power.). 

85. Lansdell’s Siphon-pump. (Steam-power.). 

86. Pulsometer Steam-pump. 

87. Section of Pulsometer. 

88. Centrifugal Pump, Directly Connected to Engine. 

89. Suction Details for Pumps. 

90. Centrifugal Pump, Double Suction. 

91. Dredging-pump. 

92. Dredging-pump Piston. 

93. Lancaster Grapple. (Derrick Dredge.). 

94. Sand-digger. (Light Elevator Dredge ). 

95. Osgood Dipper Dredge, New York State Canals. 

96. Osgood Dipper Dredge, Details, New York State Canals. 

97. Metal Tube for Concreting.. 

98. Metal Bucket for Concreting. 

99. Concrete Piers, Red River Bridge. 

100. Concrete Forms, Red River Bridge. 

101. Concrete Forms, Illinois and Michigan Canal. 

102. Stone Crusher and Concrete Mixer, I. and M. Canal. 

103. Double-drum Guy Derrick, Am. Hoist and Derrick Co... 

104. Single-drum Horse-power, Con. Plant Mfg. Co. 

105. Double-drum Hoist-engine, Lidgerwood Mfg. Co. 

106. Lidgerwood Electric Hoist. 

107. Lidgerwood Cableway Carriage and Skip. 

108. Lidgerwood Cableway at Coosa Dam. (Span 1,012 Feet.) 

109. Congressional Library, Washington, D. C. 

no. Bismarck Bridge, N. P. Ry. (View showing Piers.). 

in. Bismarck Bridge Foundations. (Profile.). 


PAGE 

Il6 

Il8 

120 

i2r 

12 4 

125 

126 
128 

131 

T 3 2 

132 

132 

133 

134 

J 34 

136 

137 

1 39 

140 

142 

142 

T 43 

144 

145 

147 

148 

152 

153 

154 

155 

158 

159 

160 

161 

161 

162 

3 

164 

167 

169 

170 












































Axvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FIG. PACK 

112. Cincinnati Suspension Bridge. 171 

113. Piers of Memphis Cantilever. (During Construction.). 175 

114. Hand-drill and Swab. 183 

115. Steam-power Well-driller. 184 

116. Test-boring Apparatus, Mississippi River Commission. 186 

117. Clamp and Maul. (Test-boring.). 187 

118. Pier of Omaha Bridge, Union Pacific System. 190 

119. Russian Pier, Russian State Railways. 191 

120. Cresy’s Experiments on the Form of Piers. 193 

121. Cresy’s Experiments on the Form of Piers. 195 

122. General View Ohio Freestone Quarry. 197 

123. Testing-machine. (For General Work.). 202 

124. Wardwell Channeler. 207 

125. Stone Sawing-machine. 210 

126. Cement Testing-machine. (Riehle Type.). 216 

127. Smith Concrete-mixer. 226 

128. Puget Sound Navy Yard. (Sea Wall.). 227 

129. Knoxville Concrete Abutment. (Knoxville, Tenn.). 228 

130. Knoxville Parapets. 229 

131. Knoxville Bridge Erection. 230 

132. Pile Pier, P. S. E. Ry. (Between Seattle and Tacoma.). 233 

133. Duwamish Draw, P. S. E. Ry. 234 

134. Raging River Bridge Pier. (Snoqualmie Falls Line.). 236 

135. Raging River Bridge, N. P. Ry. 237 

136. Pier of Georgetown Bridge. (Near Seattle.). 238 

137. Tensile Test, Hibbs’ “Comparative Tests of Douglas Fir and Yellow 

Pine”. 246 

138. Transverse Test, Hibbs’ “Comparative Tests of Douglas Fir and 

Yellow Pine”. 247 

139. Section of Teredo-eaten Pile. 249 

140. Plant for Creosoting Timber, Perfection Pile Preserving Co. 253 

141. Creosoting Retorts, Perfection Pile Preserving Co. 254 

142. Matthew’s Cast-iron Sheet-pile. 284 

143. Ewart’s Cast-iron Sheet-pile. 284 

144. Ewart’s Modified Shset pile. 285 

145. Cubitt’s Iron Sheet-piling. 286 

146. Sibley Hollow Iron Sheet-pile. 287 

147. Brunswick Wharf Iron Sheet-piling. - .. 283 

148. Original Form proposed for Brunswick. 290 







































ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


CHAPTER I. 

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT. 

The continued increase in the weight of our bridge super¬ 
structures and of the loads they have to carry has led to increased 
care, to a very gratifying degree, in the preparation of the founda¬ 
tions for bridge piers and abutments. 

An old authority very truly states “The most refined elegance 
of taste as applied in the architectural embellishment of the 
structure; the most scientific arrangement of the spans and 
disposition generally of the superior parts of the work; and the 
most judicious and workmanlike selection and subsequent com¬ 
bination of the whole materials composing the edifice, are evidently 
secondary to the grand object of producing certain firm and solid 
bases whereon to carry up to any required height the various 
pedestals of support for the spans of the bridge.” 

There is every reason to believe, from the bridges of the 
Romans still extant and of those of ancient and mediaeval times 
of which there are remains or records, that the foundations were 
carefully considered. 

The most ancient form was likely begun by dumping in loose 
stones until the surface of the water was reached and the masonry 
could then be commenced without the necessity for any method 
of excluding the water. The oldest civilizations were in tropical 
or semi-tropical countries where the streams are dry beds for 



ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


many months in the year and suitable foundations were easily 
made without water to contend with. Where the bottom of the 
stream was rock, the engineering could be very little improved 
upon to-day, and even where there was shallow water on rock 
bottom, the piers were well founded in the shallowest places, 
the bridge often winding across the stream in serpentine form, 
similar to the bridge over the river Karun, at Shuster, Persia. 

(Fig- I-) 

The arch was developed to such an extent by the Romans, 
and the spans were increased to a length which rendered the 
construction of piers in the water unnecessary for short bridges, 
the abutments or skew-backs being without the stream on either 
bank. 

The difficulty of founding piers in midstream was doubtless 
the controlling cause for the larger spans, such as the one built 
at Trezzo, over the river Adda, by order of the Duke of Milan, 
some time prior to the year 1390. The span at low water was 
251 feet, the single arch being of granite in two courses. The 
placing of a middle support was doubtless found to be imprac¬ 
ticable and caused the design of an arch which has never been 
equaled or eclipsed. (Fig. 2.) 

The construction of roads has ever been the harbinger of 
civilization, and with the spread of civilization came a demand 
for the improvement of means of communication. The engineer 
was called upon to construct better and greater bridges in a per¬ 
manent manner, which led to the origin and development of 
the four methods for founding in water that were used in olden 
times. These may be classified as, first, the method with open 
caissons; second, the use of piles with a capping of coarse con¬ 
crete about the tops; third, the use of piles after the manner of 
the French encaissement; and fourth, the use of coffer-dams. 
A fifth method might be added, in which the bridge was built 
on dry land adjacent to the stream, and the river diverted to a 
new channel afterwards excavated under the completed structure. 
This is, however, an avoidance rather than a solution, unless the 
river is to be diverted in the course of its improvement. 



Fig. i.—Bridge at Shuster, Persia, over the River Karun, 



































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































4 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


The first method, as described in old treatises or accounts, 
consisted of little more than baskets formed of branches of trees, 
weighted with stone to sink them, and after sinking filled with 
loose stone to near low-water level, where the masonry could be 
commenced. These baskets were similar in construction to the 
mattresses used in the bank revetment of the Mississippi or 



Fig. 2.—Bridge over the Adda at Trezzo, Milan, a Probable Restoration. 
(The shaded portion of arch rings is all that remains.) 


the bamboo casings used by the Japanese to hold stones in place 
on bank protection. 

An improvement was effected by using in place of baskets, 
boxes or small open caissons which were sunk and filled in the 
same manner, several being used for one pier. This was the 
method used at Blackfriars bridge and also at Westminster bridge, 
over the Thames, and has been much used in recent times, the 
caisson being built large and strong enough for the entire pier, 
which is built up as the caisson sinks. 

The second method consisted of driving piles over the area 
of the foundation until the heads were below low-water level, 






























































































































HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT. 


5 


and spaced at distances apart as required by the nature of the 
bottom, similar to the methods in vogue to-day. The heads 
of the piles were not driven to the same level, however, and were 
incased in a form of coarse concrete such as was used by the 
Romans, but what is now called beton. This was leveled up 
and on it was laid the stone for the footing course of the pier. 

The third method of encaissement was probably an improve¬ 
ment of the dumping in of loose stone on which to place the pier, 
and consisted in inclosing the space for the pier with sheet-piling, 
after which the loose material was removed from the bottom as 



much as possible and the stone dumped inside until nearly up 
to low water, at which time the pier could be begun. 

These last two methods doubtless met with much favor, owing 
to the familiarity with pile-driving, in which the Romans espe¬ 
cially were proficient. Caesar’s bridge over the Rhine was built 
entirely on piles, and in a view of it after the old print in the 
Museum de St. Germaine, is pictured a pile-driver on a float in 
position for driving. (Fig. 3.) 

This third method" was the early type of the crib, which has 
been such a factor in the building of the earlier foundations 
over our American rivers. Crossed timbers laid up crib fashion 
















































































































6 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS . 


with rectangular openings or cells between the timbers were 
sunk and filled with broken stone on which to build the pier. 

These methods were all deficient in affording no means of 
seeing or making a careful examination of the bottom on which 
the foundation was to be placed, and with the advent of more 
permanent structures of greater magnitude the coffer-dam came 
into use. This allowed the bottom to be freed from water, and 
after a careful examination and preparation of the foundation, 
the work could proceed in the dry until above water-level. 

The pneumatic caisson is now in general use for all founda¬ 
tions that must go to any considerable depth below the water 
and has even been used in some instances where the depth was 
slight, but where for various reasons it was deemed expedient to 
use compressed-air caissons. Recent expressions from some 
engineers of high standing would indicate that they do not con¬ 
sider it good practice to use coffer-dams in any case, one making 
the statement that he had not used a coffer-dam for thirty years, 
while another seemed to think it a matter to be left to the pleasure 
of the contractor. That the use of this method has gotten into 
disfavor seems to be beyond question and it will be the purpose 
of the succeeding pages to learn to some extent why this is so, 
but mainly to show from successful examples how to proceed, 
that success instead of failure may result. Any attempt to account 
for the origin of the coffer-dam process would be futile, inasmuch 
as the savage, wishing to free a space from water, doubtless 
banked up earth about the area and, scooping out the water with 
his hands, laid the ground bare for inspection. From so simple 
a beginning, the first method likely to occur to a mind capable 
of reasoning, can readily be imagined the course of development 
of coffer-dams. 

The most simple form in use at the present time, where 
the water is quiet, is shown in Fig. 4, and consists principally 
of a bank of earth which is made thick enough to be nearly 
or quite impervious to water, the earth being prevented from 
caving into the excavation by piles supporting a timber casing. 
Some of the recorded examples of the early use of this process 


HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT. 


7 


are of interest in illustrating the care which has bestowed upon 
their construction in important works and will call attention to 
that incessant care which is necessary to success in any work of 
this character. 



Fig. 4.—A Primitive Solution. 


Robert Stevenson, the great English engineer, thought it not 
beneath his dignity to give full instructions as to the construction 
of the coffer-dams for the Hutcheson bridge over the Clyde at 
Glasgow. The bridge consisted of five arch spans, the total 







8 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS . 


length between the abutments being 404 feet and the width 38 
feet. The four piers were from 11 to 12 feet in thickness, being 
designed to take up the arch-thrust, and 48 feet in length at the 
footing. The specifications written at Edinburgh in April, 1828, 
are so explicit that they will be quoted in full on this point: “It 
having been ascertained by boring and mining that the subsoils 
of the bed of the river consist of gravel, sand, and mud to the 
depth of 27 feet and upwards, it becomes necessary to prepare 
foundations of pile-work for the bridge; and, therefore, to insure 
the proper and safe execution of the works, coffer-dams are to 
be constructed around each of the foundation-pits of the two 
abutments and four piers of such dimensions as to afford ample 
space for driving piles, fixing wale-pieces, laying platforms, 
pumping water, and setting the masonry; and likewise for the 
construction of an inner or double coffer-dam should this ulti¬ 
mately be found necessary. The framework of the coffer-dams is 
to consist of not less than two rows of standard or gage- and 
sheeting-piles, kept at not less than 3 feet apart for the thickness 
of a puddle-wall or dyke, which space is to be dredged to a depth 
of not less than 9 feet under the level of the summer water-mark 
above described, before the sheeting-piles are driven. The 
gage or standard piles are to measure not less than 24 feet in 
length and 10 inches square. They are to be placed 3 yards 
apart and driven perpendicularly into the bed of the river to the 
depth of 16 feet under the level of the summer water-mark, 
thereby leaving 8 feet of their length above that mark. Runners 
or wale-pieces of timber 9 inches square are then to be fitted on 
both sides of each row of gage-piles, to which they are to be 
fixed with two screw-bolts of not less than 1 inch in diameter, 
passing through each of the gage-piles. One set of these inside 
and outside wale-pieces is to be placed at or below the level of 
summer water-mark, and the other set within 1 foot of the top 
of each row of said piles, the whole to be fixed with screw-bolts 
in the manner above described. The wale-pieces are to be 
4J inches apart in order to receive and guide the sheeting-piles. 
This is to be effected by notching the wale-pieces into the gage- 


HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT. 


9 


piles. The sheeting-piles are to be 21 feet in length, 4J inches 
in thickness, and not exceeding 9 inches in breadth. They 
are to be closely driven, edge to edge, along the space left between 
the wailings, and each compartment of the sheeting between 
the gage-piles is to be tightened with a key-pile. The coffer¬ 
dam frames are to be properly connected with stretchers and 
braces before commencing the interior excavation. Each coffer¬ 
dam is to be provided with a draw-sluice, 14 inches square in the 
void, with a corresponding conduit passing through the puddle- 
dyke at the level of summer water-mark. To render the coffer¬ 
dams water-tight the whole excavated space between the two 
rows of piling is to be carefully cleared of gravel, sand, or other 
matters, to the specified depth, and clay well punned or puddled 
is then to be filled in and carried up to the level of the top of the 
sheeting-piles. But if it shall, notwithstanding, be found that 
the single tiers of coffer-dam do not keep the foundation-pits 
sufficiently free of water for building operations, the water must 
either be pumped out and kept perfectly under by steam or other 
power, or else excluded by the construction of a second tier of 
coffer-dam similar in construction to the first. For the founda¬ 
tion-pits of the two abutment piers on either side of the river it 
is not expected that more will be required on the landward side 
for keeping up the stuff than a single row of. gage- and sheeting- 
piles; but if the engineer shall find other works necessary upon 
opening the ground they must be executed by the contractor 
and shall be paid for agreeably to the contract schedule of prices 
for the regulation of extra and short works. The stuff within 
the coffer-dams is to be excavated to the depth of 10 feet under 
the level of summer water-mark for each of the piers and 8 feet 
for each of the abutments.” 

The present practice of leaving all this to a contractor, whose 
idea is too often to sacrifice everything to cheapness, appears in 
very unfavorable contrast to this careful description. 

An article on founding by means of coffer-dams, published 
in 1843, gives directions for placing a coffer-dam in 40 feet of 
tide-water; and although the engineer of to-day would use some 


IO 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


other method for such a depth, an illustration (Fig. 5) and short 
description of it are given, as ideas may be gained for application 
to ordinary works. 

The water was assumed at 10 feet deep for low tide, 28 feet 
at high tide, with 12 feet of sand and gravel to be removed to 
expose the clay on which the pier was to rest. Four rows of 
piles were to be driven around the area, the outer row to within 
1 foot of low water, the two rows in the middle to within 3 feet 
of high water, the inner row to n feet above low water, and all 



to be down 5 feet into the clay. The outer row of piles to be 
6"Xi2", the two rows in the middle i2 r/ Xi2", and the inner 
row 8" X12"; all driven close together and to have waling- 
pieces, braces, and brace rods as shown in cross-section. The 
rows to be 6 feet apart and to be filled in between with a puddle 
of clay mixed with sand and gravel. 

The report of W. Tierney Clark, the engineer of the Buda 
Pesth suspension bridge, gives an account of what are probably 
the largest bridge coffer-dams ever constructed. Some other 
method would now be used for such a location, but this fact will 
not detract from the lessons that may be drawn from them. 

The Danube was crossed at Buda Pesth previous to the year 
1837 by means of a bridge of boats which had to be taken up 
during the winter and the passage made by ferry or on the ice, 
so that for six months of each year there was great risk in crossing 

















































































HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT. 


11 

and frequent loss of life. The building of a permanent bridge 
was brought about through the efforts of the Count Szechenyi, 
who, as a member of a committee, proceeded to England in 1832 
and after a careful investigation of existing works decided upon 
the construction of a suspension bridge. The greatest question 
for solution was the founding of the two towers in a river like 
the Danube, where the ice throughout the long winter wrought 
havoc with everything in reach. The ice in the river in February, 
1838, was from 6 to 10 feet thick near the site of the proposed 

TRANSVERSE SECTION NO.3 COFFER DAM 


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M\ -/ 

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V / 

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V / 

r \ 

1 -\ Z\ 

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M 

M 


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Fig. 6.—Buda Pesth Suspension Bridge. 

piers. On March 9 a movement occurred across the whole 
river and for a length of 350 yards, the whole moving in a solid 
mass. On March 13 it moved again 400 yards and three hours 
later a general breaking began. The ice piled up on the shoals, 
causing a sudden rise to 29 feet 5 inches above zero, and while 
it was at this height for only a few hours, it is recorded that a 
great part of Buda and two-thirds of Pesth were destroyed and 
many lives lost. 

The extraordinary design of the coffer-dams can the more 
readily be understood after this description, it being doubted 
by many persons at that time whether piers could be placed in 
the river by any means. (Fig. 6.) 






















































































































































ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


I 2 


The drawings reproduced are of coffer-dam No. 3, which 
was about 72 feet in width and about 136 feet in length inside 
the puddle walls, there being two puddle chambers, each 5 feet 
in width. From a point about 13 feet above the clay on which 
the tower was to rest, was an inside wall of sheet-piling, this 
space being nearly filled, after excavating, with a bed of concrete. 
The piling of each row, from 40 to 80 feet in length, was all care¬ 
fully sized to 15 inches square, shod with iron and driven close 
together, penetrating 20 feet below the bed of the stream or 
40 feet below the zero level. The framing of the ice-breaker 
and the bracing within the dam was of enormous strength. The 
number of piles driven in the four coffer-dams reached the enor¬ 
mous total of 5,224, and of the 1,227 driven in dam No. 3, 16J per 
cent, were drawn and redriven. These piles and the timber were 
obtained from the forests of Bavaria and Upper Austria. (Fig. 7.) 

The first pile on dam No. 3 was set on April 8, 1842, but 
owing to the difficulties encountered it was not finished until 
three years later—April 4, 1845. From six to seven days were 
occupied at the first in driving a pile to a depth of 5 or 6 feet 
into the clay, but as the work progressed the difficulty increased, 
the operation of driving one pile consuming from twelve to four¬ 
teen days, many piles breaking short off so they could not be 
withdrawn, and the gravel was dredged out from behind and a 
second row driven. The report further describes the difficulty 
of the work: ‘‘The dredging for the No. 3 dam was carried on 
to the average depth of 44 feet from the top of the outer row of 
piles, leaving about 10 feet of gravel to drive through, and extra 
piles were driven where the gravel found its way between the 
piles, as well as where it was known the piles were not driven 
to the proper depth, or were broken or otherwise injured. As 
the gravel was dredged out to the above depth, the inner and 
middle row of piles were driven, and a great part of them got 
down as was supposed to the requisite depth. The work was 
carried on in the above manner until the 7th of November, when 
from the appearance of several piles which were pulled up, and 
from other causes, it became apparent that the outer row was in 


HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT. 


13 



fO 


Fig. 7.—Buda Pesth Suspension Bridge, Plan of Coffer-dam No. 































































































































































































































































































































14 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


a much worse state than had been expected, and it was almost a 
matter of certainty that those piles which had taken ten or twelve 
days to get down were not driven to the proper depth by at least 
3 or 4 feet, having upset or lost their points to that extent. There 
was likewise every reason to believe that many of them were 
broken or dangerously crippled. Added to this the Danube was 
rising, and at the late time of the year, with winter rapidly 
approaching, the general appearance of the dam was anything 
but satisfactory. Upon mature consideration the only course 
appeared to be to drive a much greater number of piles than was 
at first calculated upon, and another complete row of piles was 
driven all round at intervals of 15 inches apart, and in some cases 
double and triple piles were driven during the progress of the 
dredging. At the commencement of the driving a few were got 
down to the depth of 57 or 58 feet, being from 3 to 4 feet in 
the clay; but as the gravel began to get compressed many of them 
would not penetrate more than 54 or 55 feet, the sharp, angular 
gravel overlying the clay appearing to be compressed into a 
substance as hard as rock.” 

The puddle used was clay mixed with about one-third clean 
gravel, it having been found to set quite solid, from experiments 
made by sinking specimens in the Danube. When leaks occurred 
they were closed by driving square timbers down 30 or 40 feet 
into the puddle to pack it, or by driving new piles to close the 
cracks, and in some cases by driving sheet-piling. 

Experiences of this nature led to the disuse of coffer-dams for 
foundations to such depths, but a very small percentage of the 
care exercised and the persistence shown in this work would 
lead to greater success on ordinary foundations. 

The class of work to which coffer-dams may still be applied 
will be shown in the succeeding pages and the examples from 
actual practice will show in some measure the care that must 
be exercised in the first construction to prevent failure, and the 
expedients adopted to overcome unavoidable accidents. 

“In every man’s mind, some images, words, and facts remain, 
without effort on his part to imprint them, which others forget, 
and afterwards these illustrate to him important laws.” 


CHAPTER II. 


CONSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE.—CRIB COFFER-DAMS. 

The exact definition of the term coffer-dam—“a water-tight 
inclosure, from which the water is pumped to expose the bottom 
and permit the laying of foundations”—is the class of structure 
which is to be considered, although in the construction of them 
cribs or caissons may be employed and utilized; the essential 
purpose being to form an inclosure as nearly water-tight as 
possible in order that the expenditure of power for pumping out 
the water may be of small amount. 

The attainment of this when the water is shallow and has 
little current we have seen to be easily accomplished by means 
of a bank of clay or clayey gravel. 

This form may also be employed in still water up to about 
4 feet in depth by the addition of sheet-piling or a casing supported 
by ordinary piles to prevent the embankment from caving into 
the excavation. Where the bottom is of soft mud or porous 
material over a solid clay or gravel, as much as possible of the 
porous material should be removed before forming the embank¬ 
ment, thus preventing leakage underneath. In very shallow 
water this can be accomplished by shoveling and with large 
hoes or scoops, but with several feet of water to contend with, 
some form of dredge or scraper must be employed. A very con¬ 
venient form of scraper used by M. L. Byers on the Cinti. & 
Mus. Valley Railway is described in Vol. 31 of the “Transac¬ 
tions of the American Society of Civil Engineers,” and consists 
of old boiler-iron, strengthened by three ribs of light iron rail as 
shown in Fig. 8. This was operated by a double-drum 20-horse- 

15 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


16 

power Mundy hoisting-engine, with the towing-line running 
directly from one drum to the scraper and the back line from 
the other drum over a sheave to the front of the scraper. The 
excavating averaged about 45 yards of material each day during 
twelve days’ work. The weight of the device was about one 
thousand pounds. 

Where the material is very soft, a hand-dredge, called a spoon, 
will accomplish the work at about the same cost as excavating 



on dry land. The spoon usually consists of a long pole, having 
a cutting-ring fastened at one end, and to this ring is attached 
a canvas bag to contain the excavated material. The ring is 
hung from a derrick with a set of falls, being guided with the 
pole, as it is dragged forward by the derrick through the material 
to be excavated. 

Excavating may be done on all the larger rivers by employing 
the sand or gravel diggers which are almost always to be found, 
the dredging being accomplished by means of a series of buckets 
on a belt or on chains operated through a well in the bottom of 














































CONSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE—CRIB COFFER DAMS. 17 

a barge. Dredging by machinery on a large scale will be con¬ 
sidered later on in some detail. 

The method of embankment is sometimes employed for 
greater depths than 4 feet and in some instances successfully. 
The Chanoine dams on the Great Kanawha River required 



Fig. 9.—Coffer-dam at Dam No. ii, Great Kanawha River. 


substantial foundations beneath the water, and to accomplish 
this Addison M. Scott, the resident engineer, employed log cribs 
about the spaces, with earth banked up on the outside. This 
work is described in the report of the Chief of Engineers for 1896. 

The site of the navigation pass of dam No. 11, including 
the center pier, required a coffer-dam 90 feet wide and 330 feet 
long inside. (Fig. 9.) This area, including the necessary room 
for the cribs, was dredged out to hard-pan from 20 to 24 feet 
below low water. The long cribs, which contained about 84,000 























18 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


lineal feet of logs, were sunk in sections 19 feet wide and 20 feet 
long. They were sheathed up to about 3 feet above low water, 
with sheet-piling in three layers, on the Wakefield system. The 
driving was accomplished by attaching an eighty-pound weight 
to an Ingersoll-Sergeant drill run by steam and utilizing the 
reciprocating motion by attaching the drill with clamps to the 
tops of the sheathing, following it down as it was driven, after the 
manner of the Nasmyth steam pile-hammer. This device, 
which is one of the most ingenious ever devised for the purpose, 
was arranged by the contractor’s engineer, S. H. Reynolds, and 
was a complete success. 

The tops of the cribs were 10 feet above low water, and the 
bottoms rested on the hard-pan, making a total height of from 
30 to 34 feet. 

The cribs were filled with sand and gravel that had been 
dredged out, but the outside was banked up with selected clay 
and dredged material, which was protected by a layer of riprap 
up to about low water. 

When the coffer-dam was first pumped out several leaks were 
developed, but after one week in perfecting the details the pumps 
were started regularly and no serious trouble was had afterward. 
This is only one of a series of coffer-dams which have been con¬ 
structed on the several dams in this river, and owing to the care 
exercised good results were obtained uniformly. 

The construction of a similar piece of work on the Ohio River 
was begun by Major R. L. Hoxie, corps of engineers, and is 
described in the report of 1895: “It was originally planned to 
inclose the site of the dam and lock within a coffer-dam, and 
work was commenced upon that basis. But on attempting to 
pump out the inclosure it was found that water came in in large 
quantities, not only under the dam but from springs in the bottom, 
and all attempts to close these by dumping clay and gravel was 
a failure. The area inclosed by the dam was about 600 by 200 
feet or about 3 acres of river bottom. The deposit of sand and 
gravel overlying the rock was about 35 feet thick, the rock being 
45 feet below the water-level, while the plans required an exca- 


CONSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE.-CRIB COFFER-DAMS. 19 


vation 20 feet deep below this water-surface. The bottom deposit 
had been worked over for years by sand-diggers, who threw 
back the large stones and coarse gravel after removing the fine 
sand, this work resulting in a very permeable bottom, with pos¬ 
sible channels of comparatively large dimensions extending to 
unknown distances beyond the limits of the coffer-dams.” 

This is perhaps the most frequent source of failure of a well- 
constructed coffer-dam and should always be guarded against 



Fig. 10.—Crib Coffer-dam, Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. 
by removing as much of the porous material as possible, by dredg¬ 
ing, before the construction of the coffer-dam is begun. 

Cribs are very easy to construct, usually very substantial, 
and easy to make use of by floating to position and then sinking 
in place. A very simple form that has been used on the Chicago, 
Burlington & Quincy Railroad is described by E. J. Blake, chief 
engineer. Where the water is shallow they have been built in 
the form shown (Fig. 10), of fence boards spiked one piece on 









20 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


another; with deeper water they are made of heavier timber, 
2"X8" or 2"Xio". They are built on the water and are tied 
across at intervals by pieces spiked through the wall, which 
pieces should be carefully fitted to prevent leakage. In some 
cases where the bottom is soft, instead of dredging, a bottom is 
added to the crib to prevent the filling from squeezing its way 
out from under the edge. 

When the crib has reached bottom, being sunk by weighting 
it down if necessary, the chambers are filled with clay puddle 
and clay is banked up around the outside to prevent water run¬ 
ning under. The crib is made large enough so that the excava¬ 
tion will leave an easy slope to the inner edge of the timber work. 
This form can be made to conform readily to the contour of 
the bottom by starting the layers of timber at different elevations. 
No leakage has been experienced except what can readily be 
kept under control with ordinary-sized centrifugal pumps. The 
cost of construction is generally a minimum, as there are usually 
plenty of old timbers available for use from the railroad yards. 

Cribs constructed in a similar manner but with only one wall 
of timber have been used successfully on the Canadian Pacific 
Railway by P. Alex. Peterson, chief engineer. 

The bracing is very efficiently attached by dovetailing it 
into the sides, while the form of the crib enables it to withstand 
the force of the current and the ice. The projections on the 
inside are to prevent the water from forcing its way up between 
the sides and the concrete filling when the dam is pumped out. 
These projections answered their purpose very effectually, and 
when the dam was pumped out it remained dry enough to lay 
the masonry without any additional pumping. 

Illustrations are given of a crib of this character which was 
used on the St. Lawrence River (Fig. n), similar ones being 
used for the other piers of the same bridge, and of the crib used 
for the Arnprior bridge. (Figs. 12, 12a.) This shows the concrete 
which was deposited on which to found the masonry, and which 
formed a water-tight bottom so that the crib could be pumped 
out for the laying of the stone. 


CONSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE.—CRIB COFFER-DAMS. 2 1 


The practice on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad 
has been in some respects similar to what has been given. C. D. 



Fig. ii.—St. Lawrence River Bridge, Crib and Coffer-dam, Canadian 

Pacific Railway. 


Purdon, assistant chief engineer, states that cribs built of old 
timbers are used when such material as stringers 7 "Xi 6" is 


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Fig. 12. _Arnprior Bridge, Crib and Coffer-dam, Canadian Pacific 

Railway. 


plentiful, each course being stepped in about J inch to give a 
batter. For use in sand when rocks and drift are likely to be 







































































































































































































































































































































































































22 


ORDINAR Y HO UN DA 7 IONS. 



Fig. 12 a . 











































































































































































































CONSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE—CRIB COFFER-DAMS. 


2 3 


encountered a crib is made by constructing a frame of old bridge 
timbers and sheathing it with plank. (Fig. 13.) This is sunk 
by digging out the sand, which is shoveled first into box A, then 
to boxes B, then to C, and then outside. The suction-pipe is 
shown in dotted lines, the pumping being accomplished with a 
centrifugal pump. This plan works very successfully on the 
streams in Colorado and New Mexico where the water is mostly 
in the sand and but little shows as surface-water. 

The Arkansas River bridge of the St. Louis & San Francisco 
Railroad at Tulsa was built over a bottom of gravel and riprap 
above rock, which was quite level and about 7 feet below low 
water. Cribs were constructed for coffer-dams similar to the 
one just described and set on the bed of the stream. Clay from 
the bank was dumped outside and as the crib was dug out and 
sunk, the clay followed down and kept out the water. 

When the bottom is of clay or of sand without obstructions, 
sheet-piles, either tongue and groove or the Wakefield, are driven 
around a crib. 

Geo. H. Pegram, chief engineer of the Union Pacific system, 
has made the construction of coffer-dams conform to available 
material and local conditions. At the crossing of the Republican 
River in Kansas, where the bottom was sandy, a single thickness 
of 4-inch V-shaped tongue-and-groove sheet-piling, with the 
usual guide-piles and wales, served to form a water-tight structure. 

Where a gravel bottom overlaid a hard soapstone, as on 
some work in Idaho, with 7 feet of water to contend with, the 
coffer-dam was made of Wakefield piling, formed of ij-inch 
sized plank. The joints were tightened with cement; and sand, 
gravel, and straw placed outside to prevent leaking. Wakefield 
piling has also been used for clean rock bottom, placed in two 
rows about the depth of the water apart. Intermediate cribs 
filled with rock were used to sink them. The ends of the piling 
were sharpened and driven on the rock until broomed up and 
rendered nearly water-tight, when gravel mixed with straw was 
placed around outside to close any remaining leaks. 

In cases where ordinary piling has been driven and a grillage 


24 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


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Fig. 13.—Crib Coffer-dam, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. 




































































































































































































































































































































CONSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE.-CRIB COFFER DAMS. 25 

laid upon them to receive the masonry, a coffer-dam is con¬ 
structed as shown (Fig. 14), in which to lay the masonry. The 
construction of this is fully shown in the different views given. 

Another form of coffer-dam for the same purpose was con¬ 
structed by Octave Chanute in laying the masonry of the pivot 
pier for the Fort Madison bridge over the Mississippi River, 
on the line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. (Fig. 15.) 
This is described in the Engineering News of June 2, 1888, by 
W. W. Curtis, resident engineer: “The grillage (for the pivot 
pier) is 4 feet 3 inches thick, the upper 15 inches being dressed 
to an accurate circle of the desired diameter. The coffer-dam 
was fitted against these two courses and was formed of 3"X8" 
pine-plank staves, dressed on the sides to a slight bevel, around 
which were placed seven wrought-iron hoops 4 "X 3 /i«", 5"X 3 A„", 
and 6"X 3 /ie", similar to those used for water-tanks, and screwed 
up tight. Inside of these, circular braces of plank were fitted. 
As a water pressure of 19 feet was to be resisted, additional 
security against leakage was obtained by placing a string of 
candle-wicking vertically between each stave. When the caisson 
was submerged to about full depth it became necessary for the 
steamboat to assist it into final position. A i2"Xi2" post 
was bedded in the concrete in the center of the pier, with four 
braces running to the circular bracing of the sides. This makes 
a very cheap coffer-dam and was found to work very well.” 

An attempt to use a form similar to this was made in construct¬ 
ing the Walnut street bridge at Philadelphia. This is described 
by Geo. S. Webster, chief engineer Bureau of Surveys, in the 
Engineering News of March 15, 1894: “In founding the river 
piers, the Robinson coffer-dam was first tried, but was abandoned 
after three of them had failed by collapsing. This dam may 
be briefly described as follows: A circular platform about 80 feet 
in diameter supported upon piles at an elevation of about 4 feet 
above high water was first constructed. Square piles of i2"X 12" 
yellow pine were then prepared by spiking a 3 // X4 // timber 
flat, along the middle of one side, and two others along the edges 
of the opposite side, forming a tongue and groove on each pile. 


26 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS . 




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Fig. 14.—Coffer-dam on Grillage, Payette and Weiser River Bridges, 

Union Pacific System. 



































































































































PH—10- 


CONSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE.—CRIB COFFER-DAMS, 


27 




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COR.NER DETAJL. 


Fig. 14a. 


































































































































28 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


The tops were squared off and the bottom ends pointed to a 
wedge shape. These piles were then driven close together against 
the edge of the circular platform and down to rock. Mr. Robin¬ 
son’s idea was that the mud overlying the rock would hold the 
piles in position at the bottom, and if the top ends were held by 
an outside hoop, the dam would be secure without internal brac¬ 
ing to resist collapsing-pressure. In the first trial the hoop was 
made of boiler-iron some 4 feet or more in width. In the second 
dam it was formed of a heavy steel railway rail, and in the third 


- 33 ^G- 



Fig. 15.—Coffer-dam on Grillage, Fort Madison Bridge, Atchison, 

Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. 

dam the hoop was the same as in the second, but it also had a 
number of radial rods in addition. The first dam was pumped 
out and held for nearly an hour before collapsing, but the others 
collapsed before being entirely pumped out. After the third 
failure this form of dam was abandoned.” 

It would seem likely from a comparison of the two cases, one 
being entirely successful and the other a failure, that had the 
Walnut street dam been supplied with additional bands lower 
down and provided with some means of tightening, with several 
internal bracing ribs of timber, it would have proven a success. 
These bands and ribs could likely have been placed by a diver. 

































































































































































































CONSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE.—CRIB COFFER-DAMS. 29 


The uncertainty which always exists regarding any construc¬ 
tion under water makes it imperative that every precaution should 
be taken to guard against troubles that might arise, by making 
the construction of no doubtful form and in no doubtful manner 
from its first inception. 

The nature of the bottom will always indicate the method of 
construction which should be adopted in a given case, but it 



Fig. 16.—A Crib Coffer-dam after a Flood. 


would be rarely that the preliminary dredging could be dispensed 
with. It is true that there are cases where there is a deposit 
overlaying a seamy rock, and the water will find its way along 
the seams, bubbling up in springs inside. Recourse must be 
had to cutting off the flow, by puddling on the outside, sometimes 
extending the operations a distance of a hundred feet or more 
away, until enough of the flow has been stopped so that the water 
can be kept down by a reasonable amount of pumping. 

The next precaution after dredging is the building of some 
form of coffer-dam which shall effectually exclude any flow 
through the sides of the dam. This we have seen to be accom- 
















3 ° 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS . 


plished in many cases by means of a bank of clay, or a row of 
sheet-piling, and in some cases by a single-walled crib. But 
in the last two methods a supplementary bank of clay or clayey 
gravel on the outside is necessary to prevent leakage. 

This bank may be protected from wash by covering it with 
clay, sand, or gravel in gunny-sacks, or by riprapping up to about 
low water, as was done on the Kanawha dams. 

Double-walled cribs and coffer-dams, constructed with two 
rows of water-tight sheet-piling, require to be puddled with a 
carefully selected material. While clay can be used with a good 
degree of success, it will be found better to use a clayey gravel 
or to mix the clay and gravel, as was done at the Buda Pesth 
bridge. When a small leak starts through a pure clay puddle, 
it washes out the clay in considerable quantities and a dangerous 
leak is soon developed. With the admixture of gravel, however, 
a leak is stopped almost as quick as started by the heavier gravel 
falling into and closing the void. 

It will generally be found advantageous to use a bank of clay 
outside of a double-walled dam, unless it might be a case where 
sheet-piling has been driven to rock, and even then a certain 
amount of material in sacks should be used to prevent wash 
or the cutting out of the earth around the sheeting. 

Whatever excavation is taken out of the interior of the coffer¬ 
dam after it has been pumped, should be dumped at the up-stream 
end and corners, or to fill any holes or pockets there may be 
around the sides or ends/ 

Cutwaters should be added to all coffer-dams which are built 
in rivers having a swift current or a heavy flow of ice, as was 
the case at Buda Pesth and on the Canadian Pacific examples. 
They must also be used in rivers where the run of drift with each 
rise is of large amount. For the purpose of preventing wash 
around a dam, a cutwater of plank supported by a frame of 
timber may be constructed separate from the main structure, or 
a V-shaped row of sheet-piling driven up-stream. On rock, a 
timber crib of triangular shape, built of round logs, may be sunk 
up-stream and filled with broken stone. Such a crib can be 


CONSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE.—CRIB COFFER-DAMS. 31 


utilized in anchoring the main crib of a coffer-dam, as was done 
at St. Louis, and which will be described in future pages. 

More fitting language cannot be found for closing words than 
those used in Wellington’s monumental work on railway location: 
“The uncertainty as to the exact requirements to be fulfilled by 
the works when completed is a disadvantage, indeed, which cannot 
be escaped; but the more difficult it is to reach absolute correct¬ 
ness, the greater need we have of some guide which shall reduce 
the unavoidable guess-work to its lowest terms, and so save us 
from the manifold hazards which result from not only guessing 
at facts, but at the effect of those facts. Whatever care we use 
we can never attempt with success to fix the exact point where 
economy ends and extravagance begins; but what we can do is 
to establish certain narrow limits in either direction, somewhere 
within which lies the truth, and anywhere outside of which lies 
a certainty of error.” 


CHAPTER III. 


CONSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE.—CRIBS AND CANVAS. 

When for some reason the necessary care has not been exer¬ 
cised in the construction of a coffer-dam and in puddling it, 
or where there were discovered conditions not known before the 
construction began, which rendered the work unsatisfactory 
or leaky, it will usually be found that the mode of repair which 
seems most expensive will in the end prove the cheapest and 
most expeditious. If the puddle proves leaky, and it be decided 
that the material was of too porous a nature, the best remedy 
is to dig out and replace it with better. Should it be found that 
the porous bottom had not been removed to a sufficient depth, it 
may be found necessary to dig out the puddle-chambers and 
puddle deeper, or the leaks might be stopped by banking up 
outside of the dam with clay or clayey gravel, or perhaps sand 
in sacks would do some good. 

Gravel will allow the percolation of water even where the 
head is small, and when a pressure of from 4 feet upwards is 
brought upon it, the leakage becomes considerable and difficult 
to control, so that pure gravel is of little service in stopping leaks. 

Hay, straw, oats, crushed cane-stalks, rotten stable manure, 
and similar materials, mixed with the banking material, are very 
efficacious in producing tightness, and when applied to local 
leaks will assist in closing them. 

Where sheet-piling has been used to exclude the water and 
leaks still occur, they can often be closed by driving more sheeting 
to lap the cracks, which may have been widened out lower down 
as the sheet-piles were first driven. This, we have seen, pro- 

32 


CONSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE.-CRIBS AND CANVAS. 33 


duced satisfactory results at Buda Pesth, where leaks were also 
closed by driving square timbers into the puddle to compact it. 

Clay can also be forced down through pipes directly to where 
the leakage occurs. The use of this at the Government Lock at 
Sault Ste. Marie is described in the Engineering News of Septem¬ 
ber 26, 1896: “The only difficulty encountered in the work of 
excavation was due to a leak in the coffer-dam, which flooded the 
lock-pit and delayed the work considerably. The cause of this 
leak was found to be a crevice in the rock passing underneath the 
coffer-dam, and despite all efforts to close it, the flow of water 
rapidly enlarged the break until about 50 feet of the clay in the 
coffer-dam had been washed away. The large break was closed 
by driving additional sheet-piling and filling in with brush, hay, 
and clay in sacks. This, however, failed to entirely stop the leak 
through the crevice, and it was determined to fill the cavity with 
clay. For this purpose a 3-inch pipe was driven down through 
the coffer-dam until its lower end penetrated the crevice. In this 
pipe small cylinders of clay about one foot long were placed and 
forced down into the cavity by means of a plunger working in the 
pipe. The apparatus is shown in the illustration (Fig. 17). As 
will be seen, the plunger, or rammer, is an iron rod, to the top of 
which is fastened a block of wood sliding between the guides of an 
ordinary pile-driver. The hammer of the pile-driver is the weight 
which pushes down the rammer. This apparatus was designed 
by E. S. Wheeler, engineer in charge of the work, and was used 
not only to fill the crevice, but all along the coffer-dam for the pur¬ 
pose of compacting the clay filling. The apparatus proved most 
successful for the purpose for which it was intended.” 

The use of rods for bracing in double-walled coffer-dams is 
very often the cause of considerable leakage, the water following 
along them through the puddle. This may be stopped by wrap¬ 
ping a band of hay or straw around the rod next to the timbers, or 
by a wrapping of coarse cloth, or by a wood washer having a hole 
slightly smaller than the rod, which is forced through. 

The walls of the dam must always be made tight, and this we 
have seen to be effected by careful framing of sides and bracing, 


34 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


and it will be seen in a later example how round struts between 
the two walls allowed the puddle to flow around them and close 
up much better than if the braces were square timbers. 



Fig. 17. —Apparatus Used to Force Clay into Crevice of Foundation 

Rock and Close Leak in Coffer-dam. 


The use of candle-wicking between the staves proved success- 
ful at Fort Madison, and calking is very often resorted to at the 
first, and also to close up local leaks. The use of this and the use 
of a stiff grease between the layers of a crib will be referred to in 
another part of this article. 





































































































CONSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE.—CRIBS AND CANVAS. 35 


The use of tarpaulins to make a water-tight piece of work is 
described in the Trans. Am. Soc. C. E., Vol. 31, by Montgomery 
Meigs, engineer in charge of the government work at Keokuk, 
Iowa. “The upper one of three locks was twice repaired by 
separating it from the river by an ordinary plank and mud coffer¬ 




dam. But as this work had to be done after the close of naviga¬ 
tion, it was found to be very unsatisfactory on account of the freez¬ 
ing of the puddle, and on one occasion the partly puddled dam 
froze and upset. After this experience it was determined to use 
some other method than puddle to produce tightness. There was 
available for drainage a 50-H.-P. suction dredge, with 14-inch 








































































3 6 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


suction, and a rotary Van Wie pump, and plenty of 12-inch dis¬ 
charge-pipe mounted on pontoons. It was proposed to drain the 
lock with this dredge, allowing the boat to settle in the mud at the 
bottom of the lock as the water left it, and to complete the work 
with a 3-inch discharge pulsometer. The lock being 350 feet 
long and 80 feet wide, a flat place on the bottom was selected, 
the dredge placed over it and the necessary length of discharge-pipe 
placed in position on its pontoons. The point selected for a bulk¬ 
head (Figs. 18 and 19) was just outside the lock gates, about 40 
feet below the lower mitre-sill, where there was a smooth rock 
bottom, the ends of the dam abutting against the flaring ashlar 
wing-walls of the lock approach. 

“The bulkhead was constructed with thirteen bents 8 feet 
apart, of the size timber shown, with light diagonal bracing. After 
being built 2J miles from the lock it was towed to position and 
sunk by weighting it with old railroad-rails, enough being used 
to overcome the buoyancy after the sheathing was added. A 
diver was employed to see that the bottom was clear of obstruc¬ 
tions and to guide the bulkhead to a solid bearing. The sheath¬ 
ing was also guided to place by his assistance. 

“The canvas sheet, which was designed to give tightness to 
the apron, was of two breadths of 10 feet and one breadth of 
6 feet wide, sewed together edge to edge for convenience, and 
about 4 feet longer than the extreme length of the apron. Some 
old -|-inch and f-inch chain was sewed to one edge continuously 
to act as a sinker and insure the lower edge of the canvas sheet 
hugging the bottom tightly. A few stones laid on it would have 
answered the same purpose, but not so well. The canvas was 
12-ounce duck. 

“The sheet was spread under water by the diver. It lapped 
on the bottom about 12 inches, covered the face of the apron 
and extended some inches up the face of the wing-walls at the 
end of the dam. Cleats were nailed on the angle between the 
apron and the wing-walls. These were of 1 X4-inch strips, 
nailed with 2-inch wire nails about 12 inches apart. The upper 
edge of the canvas was also lightly cleated to the planking in a 



Fig. 19. Inside View of Bulkhead. Lock Pumped 





















38 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS . 


similar manner. No other nails were driven in the canvas, 
which was designed to be cut up into tarpaulins eventually. 
Where the plank touched bottom no beveling was used, but one 
ragged hole was stopped with the beveled ‘ stop waters ’ which were 
made use of. The dam was pumped out in about 6 hours and the 
leakage was so small that a 3-inch discharge pulsometer kept out 
the water, and was then run only at intervals. Small leaks were 
stopped by dumping rotten stable manure in their vicinity.” 

It is interesting to note that the bulkhead stood a pressure 
of 12 feet of water. Experiments made to determine what pres¬ 
sure 12-ounce duck would stand, show that the clean canvas 
begins to leak at 2 pounds pressure, and at 5 pounds pressure 
the leakage becomes a marked amount. With mud on the can- 



Fig. 20.—Canvas Funnel for Closing Leaks. 


vas the leakage becomes noticeable at from 5 to 7 pounds, and 
of a considerable amount at 50 pounds pressure, these pressures 
being on a circle 4J inches in diameter. The canvas did not 
rupture at 800 pounds. 

The suggestion is made to use an inverted funnel of canvas 
to stop the leakage of springs on rock bottom. (Fig. 20.) The 
canvas to be spread out over the bottom and weighted down 
with concrete, and the top wired to a pipe into which the water 
may rise until the pressure-head is overcome or the pipe can be 
plugged. Arrangements of this nature, but without the canvas 
funnel, have been frequently used. An iron pipe set on end is 







CONSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE.—CRIBS AND CANVAS . 39 


fitted over the leak, and after concreting around to make it water¬ 
tight, the water rises inside until the pressure is balanced. A 
water-tight wooden box may also be used for the same purpose. 

The founding of a new inlet tower in the Mississippi at the St. 
Louis water-works was accomplished by using a coffer-dam and 
it was the intention to form a junction with the bottom by using 
a canvas curtain. When the coffer-dam was floated into posi¬ 
tion and the divers were sent down to spread the canvas and 
weight it down with stones, it was found to be damaged so as to 
be useless. This was supposed to be due to the action of the 
swift current, but was most probably due to some accident such 
as fouling on a snag or against a barge. 



F IG . 21.—Cribs for Anchoring St. Louis Coffer-dam. 


The anchoring of the crib for this dam is related in the Engi¬ 
neering News of July 4, 1891. The dam was to be located near 
the head of a stone dike about 20 feet in height and on solid rock 
bottom which was uneven and worn into grooves by the action of 
the current, which had a velocity of between 6 and 8 miles per 
hour. The bottom was leveled off by blasting, to receive the crib, 
which was to be sunk in from 15 to 18 feet of water. 

The three triangular cribs shown (Fig. 21) were sunk and 





























40 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


filled with stone and were used to hold the dam in place wdiile 
building and while being sunk. Steel cables ij inches in diam¬ 
eter were used as anchors. 

The large crib also served as a protection from the current 
and drift. 

The size of the crib was 38X74 feet outside and the height 
22 feet. The i2Xi2-inch yellow pine timbers were drift-bolted 
together with from 1 to 2 feet spacing of bolts, and all the joints 
between the timbers were calked. The bracing consisted of 
12-inch square timbers, of which there were three rows, the 
braces in each row being 4 feet apart vertically. These were 
cut out as the masonry was built up and bracing against the 
stone work substituted. 

There were four sets of diagonal bracing as shown. The space 
between the walls, which was 3 feet, was partly filled with concrete 
in sacks, and puddle placed on top. Sacks of clay were banked up 
around the outside, and then the dam was pumped dry with a 
10-inch pump. Inside was found 8 feet of mud and 60 sacks of 
concrete which had been washed there by the swift current. 

The amount of timber used was 125,000 feet, B. M., and 
about 12,000 feet of J-inch round iron for drift-bolts. The pud¬ 
dle-chamber required 1,000 sacks of concrete and 100 barge loads 
of clay, while 10,000 sacks were used for banking up clay on the 
outside. This work was constructed under the direction of 
C. V. Mersereau, Division Engineer, under S. B. Russell, Principal 
Assistant Engineer. 

The Queen’s Bridge at Melbourne, Australia, is a plate-girder 
structure with four piers of 8 cylinders each. The bottom was 
a reef of bluestone which had been shattered by blasting and 
which was silted over with about 3 feet of very soft silt. 

The use of ordinary puddle coffer-dams was thought to be 
too expensive as the bridge was 100 feet in width, and it was 
proposed to use a single wall of timber protected by tarpaulins. 
The account of this work is taken from the Engineering News 
of April 4, 1895, which is an abstract of a paper by W. R. Ren- 
wick, engineer in charge. 


CONSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE.-CRIBS AND CANVAS. 41 

To insure as light a construction as possible experiments 
were made on the strength of Oregon pine, and it was found that 
tests of water-soaked timber showed a loss of strength of as much 
as 33 pei cent., when compared with tests of seasoned timber. 
The break, too, of the water-soaked pieces was very short. This 
strength being the one adopted, a very low factor of safety was 
used. A separate dam was constructed around each tube, but 
with one side to open as a door to allow its removal and use for 
another place. The frame was made from 12X12 Oregon pine, 
with the sticks placed closer together near the bottom to resist 
the greater water pressure, and 12X12 pieces were run up the 
cornei s, the frames being notched in. These also served as 
spacers for the side timbers and as door frames. The sheeting 
on the outside was of 4X12 rough timber, and outside of this at 
the top and bottom were wale-pieces, 6X12, bolted through the 
frames with i-inch bolts to hold the sheeting in place. 

The tarpaulin was passed completely around the dam, being 
tacked to the waling-pieces, and so arranged as to allow the door 
to open. 

When the dam had been placed around a tube the sheeting 
was driven down to rock, through puddle which had been dumped 
on the bottom, and the pumping was readily done with pulsometer 
pumps. The only serious leaking was where the i-inch bolts 
passed through the joints between the sheeting, but these were 
plugged with soft wood plugs, and in other work the bolts were 
flattened to three-eighths of an inch where they passed between 
the plank. The dams were removed by first drawing the sheeting 
up to its original position, when the door was opened and the 
crib taken to another tube. The depth of water was about 15 feet, 
but while this was successful in this instance, the method should 
not be copied unless the conditions are favorable, nor unless 
the cribs are made practically water-tight in themselves. 

This was the case in the above work, as one of the tarpaulins 
was accidently torn off and the dam still excluded the water, 
so that the tarpaulin was only a wise precaution. Why the 
cylinders were not made water-tight and used as their own 


42 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 




Fig. 22.—Details of Coffer-dam Used on Arthur Kill Drawbridge, 


Center of Dam 



















































CONSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE.—CRIBS AND CANVAS . 43 

coffer-dam is not stated, but this possibly could have been 
done. 

The use of tarpaulin in closing accidental leaks could doubt¬ 
less be made use of frequently, but as the sole dependence for 
producing tightness it should be used with extreme care, in a 
gentle current and well protected from damage. 

The pivot pier of the Harlem Ship Canal bridge was founded 
in a polygonal coffer-dam, from the plans of William H. Burr, 
consulting engineer. The work is described in the Engineering 
Record of July 24, 1897: “The rock bottom secured by the canal 
excavation being an acceptable surface for the masonry of the 
pivot pier, it was constructed in a polygonal double-walled coffer¬ 
dam with thirteen sides 25 feet high and 60 feet in extreme diam¬ 
eter. The great dimensions of the coffer-dam would have made 
it difficult to build and launch it on shore. Consequently it was 
built partly on a detachable raft. As shown in the illustration 
(Fig. 23) the inside wall was built up of timbers lapped and 
halved at the angles; the outer wall timbers were carefully butt- 
jointed and secured by cross-struts and i-inch bolts to the inside 
walls. The rough-sawed horizontal surfaces of the inner wall 
were bedded in stiff grease and the joints calked, which notably 
resisted the penetration of the water. Each course of timber 
was secured to the one below it by f-inch drift-bolts spaced about 
4 feet apart. When the bottom was thoroughly cleaned the 
concrete was dumped in place by a special steel bucket. Con¬ 
creting was carried on night and day and was completed before 
puddling was begun. Considerable difficulty was occasioned by 
the irregularities of the bottom which the coffer-dam could not 
be made to fit closely. Divers were sent down and filled in 
bags of sand, as at S, and riprap R was piled up outside to pro¬ 
tect it. Then the space between the walls was filled with puddle.” 

Another polygonal dam was constructed for the draw pier of 
the Arthur Kill bridge, by Alfred P. Boiler, consulting engineer. 
The following account is taken from Vol. 27 of the Transactions 
Am. Soc. C. E.: “ It was necessary to use as little space as possible 
for the dam, and to construct it without interior bracing, so 


44 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


that a double-walled twelve-sided polygon (Fig. 22) with walls 
4 feet apart in the clear was used. The rock bottom was over¬ 
laid with 2 feet of clay and the clay with 18 inches of sand and 
mud, the depth of water over the rock being 28 feet at high tide. 
The square hemlock timbers used in the walls were halved 

1 * 

1 


HALF SECTION THROUGH PIER-AND COFFERDAM". 



Fig. 23.—Polygonal Coffer-dam, 
Harlem Ship-canal Drawbridge. 


K-2fV-- 




PLAN 

Fig. 24.—Coffer-dam for Pivot Pier 

OF THE COTEAU BRIDGE. 


together and the walls braced together by bolts and round timbers 
for struts, the round timbers allowing the puddle to run around 
them and pack well as thrown in. Clamp timbers 4X6, in two 
lengths, were held in place by the bolts and the struts were braced 
against 6-inch plank. The dam was built to one-third its height 
on shore, then towed to position and built up until grounded. 
Between the timbers and the joints candle-wicking was placed, 
and the courses drift-bolted together every 3 feet and spiked at 
the joints. The rock was dredged bare before placing the crib, 











































































































































CONSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE.—CRIBS AND CANVAS. 45 


which was filled with a hard, gravelly clay between the walls 
after being sunk in place. A rich Portland concrete was dumped 
inside, from triangular buckets, to seal the bottom and then the 
dam was pumped out with a 6-inch pump and kept dry by pump¬ 
ing at intervals. In one place the concrete was not thick enough 
and a spring came up through a fissure in the rock. This was 
boxed in and led to the sump. The material used was 140,000 
feet of timber, 15,000 pounds of iron, and 600 yards of puddle.” 

A piece of work similar to the Canadian Pacific example was 
an octagonal single-walled dam used in the construction of the 
Coteau bridge on the Canada Atlantic Railway. This is illus¬ 
trated in the Engineering News of May 30, 1891 (Fig. 24), and 
was braced thoroughly with cross-timbers built into the sides. 
The bottom being of rock it was partly filled with concrete to 
make it water-tight. 

The different forms of sheet-piling will next be taken up, 
together with pile-driving machinery and the methods of driving 
both sheet- and guide-piles. After this will be described the use 
of sheet-piles for forming water-tight coffer-dams, by reference 
to actual constructions of that character. 


CHAPTER IV. 


PILE-DRIVING AND SHEET-PILES * 

In no department of engineering have ancient methods been 
more rigidly adhered to than in that of pile-driving. The form 
of the pile-driver derrick has remained so characteristic that a 
person but slightly familiar with the subject would have little 
difficulty in recognizing the pile-driver in the picture of Caesar’s 
Bridge (Fig. 3) in the first article. The bridge of the Emperor 
Trajan over the river Danube is an instance of the early use 
of piles. This bridge was constructed in the first century, and 
when the piles under water were examined in the eighteenth 
century they were found in some cases to have become petrified 
to a depth of three-fourths of an inch from the surface, beyond 
which the timber was in its original state. Before derricks were 
used it is probable that piles were driven by a large maul of 
hard wood, which is termed by Cresy a “ three-handed beetle.” 
The block of hard wood was hooped with iron and had two 
handles radiating from its center, to be worked by two men, 
while a third man assisted in lifting it by means of a short handle 
opposite. 

Wooden mauls are still used where sheet-piling is to be driven 
into a soft bottom, and heavy iron mauls or sledges are also used; 

* The subject of pile-driving has been restricted to the ordinary methods and 
operations; such unusual processes as gunpowder pile-driving and the like have 
not been referred to. 

Pile-driving, with the assistance of the water-jet, has been described on page 80, 
in the account of the Sandy Lake coffer-dam. The ordinary operations of pile¬ 
driving, as practiced on that work, are also described in some detail. 


46 





PILE-DRIVING AND SHEET-PILES. 


47 


but as has been frequently stated such a soft bottom should be 
dredged and some more elaborate apparatus used to drive the 
piles into a harder substratum. 

The most primitive form of the pile-driving derrick is similar 
to the one used in 1751 by the celebrated French engineer, Per- 
ronet, at the bridge of Orleans (Fig. 25). This was arranged 
with a number of small ropes splayed out from the end of the 
lead line, so that a number of men could pull down at one time, 
the drop of the hammer, of course, being limited by the reach 
of the men’s arms. The windlass shown was for the purpose of 
raising the pile into place between the leads. 



Fig. 25.—Perronet’s Pile- 
driver. 


Fig. 26.—Perronet’s Bull-wheel 
Pile-driver. 


The same engineer improved upon this derrick by adding a 
large bull-wheel to the windlass, on which was wound a rope 
to be pulled by a horse from the side, as shown in Fig. 26, thus 
winding up the lead line on the windlass. This same apparatus 
is in use down to the present time, except that one seen recently 
had the windlass at right angles to the one illustrated. 

The ram or hammer used in olden times was of oak, bound 
with iron, and weighed for the work at Orleans 1,200 pounds 
for the main piles which were 9 to 12 inches in diameter and 
which were driven 3 to 4 feet apart, center to center, to a depth 
of 6 feet into the bed of the river; the ram for the sheet-piles 
only weighed half as much, the sheet-piles being about 12 inches 
wide by 4 inches thick. 








































































4 8 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


At the bridge of Saumur, which was built about the year 
1756, De Cessart employed a driver with a bull-wheel, in the 
periphery of which were set pins, to form handles for the men 
to pull upon and rotate the wheel. Eight men, by making three 
turns of the wheel, raised the ram weighing 1,500 pounds 6 feet, 
when it was unhooked and allowed to drop. The piles cost 
from two to five dollars each in place. 

A very simple form of pile-driver is shown in Fig. 27 and 
was described in the Engineering News of March 16, 1893, by 



Julian A. Hall. The hammer is hewed out of a section of a 
hardwood log, and has pieces bolted on the sides to hold it in 
the leads, which should give plenty of clearance. The derrick 
was constructed of very light timber, the verticals being 4-inch 
sawed stuff and the bottom timbers 6X6 inches. The rope 
passes over the sheave A and down over the tops of the steps BB , 
on which the men stand to pull the line and thus operate the 
hammer. This was a very inexpensive apparatus and was found 
to work well. Where there is already in use a heavier hammer 
of cast iron it can be used by striking light blows. The construc¬ 
tion of the ordinary pile-driver derrick is a simple piece of framing, 
when good straight timber is easily obtained, the essential features 
being to keep the leads free from any obstruction for the hammer 
and to have efficient bracing. 

For bracing a derrick under 25 feet a straight-back brace or 
ladder having two horizontals running to the leads, and two 
side-braces will be sufficient. But for a higher one, either addi- 






























PILE-DRIVING AND SHEET-PILES. 


49 


tional long braces should be used or diagonals introduced between 
the leads and the ladder. The use of long braces is shown in 
Fig. 28, which is the design of pile-driver such as is used about 



harbors or rivers on heavy work. It would be mounted on a 
scow or flatboat 60 feet in length, 25 feet in width and of about 
6 feet in depth. The design of smaller derricks can be approxi¬ 
mated from this one, the bracing being used in proportion. 

It will be noticed that the guides for the hammer are 4"X4" 























































































5o 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


lined with a steel plate. Two lines are provided, one being 
for the operation of the hammer and the other for pulling piles 
into place. Especial attention is called to the hooks at A, as 
these are seldom shown in the plan of a derrick and they are 
of constant use for clamping and guiding piles. A timber laid 
across is wedged tight against the pile to draw it to line, and can 
be used to correct a stick which is beginning to slant badly. Simi¬ 
lar clamps of course are used on the opposite side of the leads. 

Where a pile begins to sliver or split in driving, if the sliver 
is spiked down and the clamps used to hold it in place, the trouble 
can usually be corrected before the pile is badly damaged. 

The use of diagonal bracing between the leads and ladder is 
shown in the Lidgerwood derrick (Fig. 29) in which a diagonal is 
introduced between each pair of horizontals. This form of brac¬ 
ing is very satisfactory and equally as good as the other method. 
The diagonals on a very large driver may be extended over two 
panels and planks spiked down to the horizontals to form a plat¬ 
form for the workmen. In smaller derricks the diagonal bracing 
is most always omitted, dependence being placed in the stiffness 
of the leads and the bracing from the ladder and horizontals, as 
was done in the derrick shown in Fig. 4. 

The power for driving with a small hammer weighing from 
500 to 1,500 pounds, may be furnished by laborers pulling, but 
this is a slow operation and horse-power is nearly always used 
where steam is not available. The power is furnished from a drum 
with a long lever, to which the horse is hitched and winds up the 
hammer by walking in a circle about the drum, the frame of which 
is firmly fastened in place. This is called a “ horse-power ” 
apparatus and works slowly, but is a cheap and satisfactory way 
where a very few piles are to be driven. To the hammer-line 
are attached the tongs or nippers, which engage the pin in the top 
of the hammer (Fig. 30), and when the hammer has reached the 
proper height it is dropped by pulling a tripping-rope and releasing 
the tongs, or if the hammer is hoisted to the top of the leads, the 
top arms of the tongs are pushed together by the wedges on the 
leads and the hammer released automatically. This is a slow 



PILE-DRIVING AND SHEET-PILES. 


5 1 


method on account of waiting until the tongs run down again and 
engage the hammer. The horse-power, of course, has a ratchet, 
so that the rope runs down free and usually the blows are hurried 
by overhauling the line. With the addition of a hoisting-engine 
all this is changed and pile-driving becomes one of the most stir¬ 
ring operations of the contractor. When the hammer is hoisted 
up, the friction lever is released and the hammer descends carrying 
the rope with it, as the tongs are done away with and the line 
attached directly to the hammer. A good engine man will catch 



Fig. 29.—Lidgerwood Pile 
driving Derrick. 



Fig. 30.—Hammer with 
Nippers. 


the hammer on the rebound and materially lessen the time between 
the blows and likewise the cost of driving. 

With a heavy hammer shorter drops are made, thus causing 
much less damage to the pile, which would split badly under the 
high drop from the use of tongs. For the smaller-sized hammers 
—from 1,000 to 1,500 pounds—an engine of 10 horse-power is 
mostly used, as it is usually thought best to have a surplus of power 
in case of need; while for a 3,000-pound hammer a 20-horse¬ 
power engine would likely prove the best and most economical, 
but not infrequently a 25-horse-power hoist is employed. 

The cost of an outfit will vary greatly and the only satisfactory 






























































5 2 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


way is to get prices from responsible firms, but for preliminary 
estimates the cost of a io-horse-power hoist with single cylinder 
and single drum may be taken at about $900, and for a 20-horse¬ 
power at $1,270. Preliminary prices for other sizes of single¬ 
cylinder, single-drum hoists, may be obtained from the formula: 

Cost = v 7 81,000 Xhorse-power. 

The double-cylinder engines will cost about 10 per cent, more and 
double drums about 10 per cent, additional to this. 

Pile-driver derricks will vary much in cost owing to the loca¬ 
tion, on account of the cost of timber, but a minimum cost for a 
first-class derrick will be $6 per vertical foot and a maximum of 
$8. Being such a simple structure the easiest and safest way will 
be to make an estimate for each case. 

In the selection of an engine it is well to remember that with 
a double drum a second pile may be hoisted into place, while the 
first one is being driven, as all derricks are, or should be, provided 
with two sheave wheels at the top for this purpose. While a 
single-drum engine has a spool for this purpose, it cannot be used 
very satisfactorily. 

A pile-driver on a scow is shown in Fig. 31, such as was used 
in driving piles on the New York State canals. Another pile is 
just being hoisted into position. The hoisting-engine has no pro¬ 
tection, but a shed or house is mostly provided as a protection 
from the weather. 

While little change has ever been effected in the design of pile¬ 
driving derricks, the adoption of steam-hoists was a great improve¬ 
ment, as was also the invention of the steam pile-hammer by 
James Nasmyth. The principle is the same as that of steam 
forging-hammers, and was applied by Nasmyth to pile-driving in 
1845, ^e hammers of this class bearing his name to-day. His 
idea was that the drop-hammer was calculated more for destruc¬ 
tion than for useful effect and he termed it the “ artillery or cannon¬ 
ball principle.” Besides this the action of the drop-hammer even 
with the use of the “monkey” engine was somewhat slow. 






PILE-DRIVING AND SHEET-PILES. 


53 


Samuel Smiles says that “in Nasmyth’s new and beautiful 
machine he applied the elastic force of steam in raising the ram 
or driving-block, on which, the driving-block being disengaged, 
its whole weight of three tons descended on the head of the pile, 
and the process being repeated eighty times in a minute the pile 
was sent home with a rapidity that was quite marvelous as com¬ 
pared with the old method. In forming coffer-dams for piers and 



Fig. 31. —Pile-driving Scow, New York State Canals. 


abutments of bridges, quays, and harbors, and in piling the foun¬ 
dations of all kinds of masonry the steam pile-driver was found 
of invaluable use by the engineer. At the first experiment made 
with the machine Mr. Nasmyth drove a 14-inch pile 15 feet into 
hard ground at the rate of sixty-five blows per minute. The 
saving of time effected by this machine was very remarkable, the 
ratio being as 1 to 1,800; that is, a pile could be driven in four 
minutes that had before required a day. One of the peculiar 
features of the invention was that of employing the pile itself as 
the support of the steam-hammer part of the apparatus while it 





































































54 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


1 


was being driven, so that the pile had the percussive force of the 
dead weight of the hammer as well as the lively blows to induce 
it to sink into the ground. One of the most ingenious contrivances 

of the pile-driver was the use of steam as a 
buffer in the upper part of the cylinder, which 
had the effect of a recoil spring and greatly 
enhanced the effect of the downward blow.” 

Many modifications of this hammer have 
been manufactured, and one much used at 
present is the Warrington-Nasmyth hammer, 
made by the Vulcan Iron Works. This 
hammer (Fig. 32) is made in three sizes, the 
weight of the striking parts being 550 pounds 
for sheet-pile work, 3,000 pounds for medium 
pile work, and 4,800 pounds for use on heavy 
work. This machine is provided with a posi¬ 
tive valve-gear, a short steam passage to avoid 
the waste of steam, a wide exhaust opening to 
prevent back pressure as the hammer drops, 
a piston-head forged on the rod, and channel 
bars on the side to allow the pile to be driven 
lower than the leads of the derrick. The 
hammer is attached to the hoist rope, but this 
is left slack when the hammer is resting on the 
head of the pile, steam is turned on and the 
hammer pounds automatically at the rate of 
sixty to seventy blows per minute until the 
pile is driven. The bottom casting which rests 
on the pile is a bonnet which encases the top 
and prevents brooming or splitting. 

The hammer should have plenty of play 
in the leads, and the steam-pipe should ex¬ 
tend half way up the derrick to save length 
of hose. This hammer has a record of as high as seventy-five 
to one hundred piles per day, and one account gives the record of 
3,000 lineal feet of piling per day at a cost of $50, the number 


! 1 


Fig. 32.—Warring- 
ton-N asmyth 
Steam Pile-ham¬ 
mer. 








































































































































PILE-DRIVING AND SHEET-PILES. 


55 


of men employed being sixteen and the coal consumption one ton. 
This hammer is shown in Fig. 33 in use driving piles for bridge 
work on the Fair Haven Bridge. 

Another form of the Nasmyth hammer is the Cram (Fig. 34) 
which is very simple in construction. The driving-head is hol- 



Fig. 33.—W T Arrington-Nasmyth Hammer, Fair Haven Bridge. 


low and the steam enters through a hollow piston-rod, causing 
the head or cylinder to rise on the rod. Four sizes are made, 
with hammers of 430 pounds, 2,000 pounds, 3,000 pounds, and 
5,500 pounds. The small hammer which is listed at $300 is 
used for sheet-pile work by inserting a “follower” of oak which 
fits the base or pile cap, and which has a slit in the lower end to 
fit the sheet-pile. The number of blows per minute is the same 
as other steam pile-hammers and an average of eighty-three piles 







56 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS, 


per day of ten hours is reported, where they were driven 17 feet 
into sand and oyster-shells in the Passaic River, the largest day’s 



Fig. 34. —Cram-Nasmyth Steam Pile-hammer. 

work being 121 piles, or nearly double the best work with an 
ordinary hammer. 










PILE-DRIVING AND SHEET-PILES. 


57 


Mention has been made of the use of a rock drill as a Na¬ 
smyth hammer, on the Great Kanawha River coffer-dams; and 
where any amount of driving is to be done it will certainly be 
wise to use a hammer of the Nasmyth type. 

The guide-piles of a coffer-dam should always be driven with 



Fig. 35.—Machine for Sawing off Piles under Water. 


che idea of using them as a support for pumps, engines, derricks, 
and the like, although it will often be found cheaper to rig up on 
flatboats when there is danger from floods. In determining 
what load a pile will carry from this source, or when driven as a 
foundation pile to support the masonry, Wellington’s formula is 
at once the most accurate and the easiest to remember and use. 
For a drop-hammer, multiply twice the weight of the hammer in 
pounds by the drop in feet and divide by the last sinking in inches 





























































































































ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


5* 

plus one, and the result is the load in pounds the pile will carry, 
with a factor of six for safety. This is easily remembered as 
2 wh over 5+1, and is always ready for use. For the steam- 
hammer the form is 2 wh over 5+0.1, the “ wh ” representing 
the dynamic effect of the hammer. 

Where piles have been firmly driven and they are to be re¬ 
moved when the work is done they can be cut off under the water 
by a machine similar to Fig. 35, which can be operated from a 
barge. The description in the Engineering News gives but 
little information in addition to the drawing. The shaft works 
in cast-iron sleeves attached to a timber, which slides in the 
leads, this being operated by the winch shown in side elevation. 
The final adjustment is made by the hand-wheel on the 3-feet 
adjusting screw. Where the piles are not so solidly driven they 
can be pulled out with a lever, an old form of which is given by 
Cresy (Fig. 36). In place of the pin and links, a chain closely 
wrapped around the top of the pile is usually made use of. 



The apparatus used on the New York State canal work (Fig. 
37) consisted of a strong frame mounted on a scow, from which 
was suspended a heavy set of falls to attach to the chain wrapped 
around the head of the pile. The pulling was done by an engine 
placed on the scow. 

The construction of coffer-dams with sheet-piling has led to 
the use of a number of forms of sheet-piles, some of which are 
driven only as a protection to the puddle, while others are nearlv 
or quite water-tight in themselves. The principal forms are 
























PILE-DRIVING AND SHEET-PILES . 


59 


shown in Fig. 38, the simplest form being plank of some consid¬ 
erable thickness (a) for which Stevenson specified 4J inches by 
not exceeding 9 inches in width for the Hutcheson Bridge. The 
points are sharpened as at (i) so they will draw together in driv¬ 
ing, and as at (j) to cause them to drive straight and easy. The 
same principle is embodied in the patent metal point shown at 
(k), which is used to protect the point when driving through 
coarse gravel. 

The piles at Buda Pesth were increased to 15 inches square 



Fig. 37.—Pile-pulling Scow, New York State Canals. 


in order to resist the pressure brought upon the sides of the dam 
by the puddle, the water, and also by the ice. Flat plank are also 
used by driving two or more rows at as ( b ), the second and third 
rows being used to close the cracks in the main row of piles and 
retain the puddle. An example of this will be given in the next 
article, where it was used on the Michigan Central Railway. 
The extra rows may be of thinner plank if they can be driven. 

Mention has already been made, incidentally, of the use of 
V-shaped tongue-and-groove piling (c), on the Union Pacific 
Railway. This may be made on a beveled saw-table, the saw 









6o 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


cutting half through the plank from opposite sides at each cut. 
This will produce a reasonably tight wall, if care is used in 
driving and if the points are sharpened to draw them together 
and make tight joints. 



Fig. 38.—Sheet-piles and Sheet-pile Details. 


Ordinary tongue-and-groove piling (d) is frequently used, 
but a more frequent form is that shown at (e), like that used on 
the Robinson circular dam. The two pieces forming the groove 
and the piece for the tongue are spiked to the 9X12 with 6-inch 
spikes sloping upward. A sheet-pile dam on another pier of 
the Arthur Kill Bridge employed piling in which the grooves 
were made by making two saw cuts and cleaning out between 






























































































Fig. 39. —Charlestown Bridge. Driving Wakefield Sheet-piling. 

grooves being made in the sheet-pile and a key driven after the 
piles are down. Should the piles not drive in perfect line, and 
the groove fail to match, the method will not be found to be a 
success. 

Sheet-piling formed of two or more plank bolted together 


PILE-DRIVING AND SHEET-PILES. 61 


with a chisel, the tongue being formed in the same manner as at 
(j), the tongue being spiked in one side. 

A method which is not often employed is shown at (/), two 




















62 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS . 


is being extensively used, one of them (g) being formed by two 
plank sawed with beveled edges and bolted together to form a 
pile similar to (c). This forms a pile which will drive easily on 
account of having some size and which will require fewer supports 
in the shape of waling-pieces. 

Several examples already given describe the use of Wakefield 
patent sheet-piling (h), the method of sharpening being shown 
at ( h '). This is constructed of three layers of plank from i to 4 
inches thick, according to the pressure to be sustained. The center 

if * ^ ' f % ? 

plank must be sized to keep the tongue and groove uniform, and 
the plank are bolted together with six bolts for a length of from 
16 to 20 feet, two bolts near each end and two intermediate. 
For long piles, spikes should be driven between the bolts. The 
bolts vary from | inch for i-inch plank to | inch for 4-inch plank. 
A.coffer-dam constructed with this piling is shown in process of 
construction in Fig. 39, for the foundations of Charlestown Bridge 
near Boston. A description of this will be given in the next article. 

Pile-shoes for use on round or square piles are shown at (/) 
and (m), (/) being patent forms. Straps of bar iron are used 
in many cases with success, for main piles, and sheet iron of 
J inch thickness, bent to a “V” and spiked on, is often all that 
is necessary when shoes must be used on sheet-piles. 

The thickness of sheet-piling should be sufficient to prevent 
the plank from bulging and should be calculated to stand a water 
pressure due to the depth, and for a span equal to the distance 
between the waling-timbers or other supports. This would 
necessitate wales every 6 feet for 3-inch plank under 5-feet head, 
or wales every 3 feet for a 21-feet head. Plank 4J inches thick 
would require wales every 7 feet under a 9-feet head, or every 
5 feet for an 18-feet head. Timbers 9 inches thick will carry 
9 feet under a 20-feet head, while the 15-inch timbers of the 
Buda Pesth dam would carry 12 feet under a 33-feet head. 

Good timber should always be employed if it can be pro¬ 
cured, or, if faulty stuff must be used, allowance must be made 
by using thicker piles and by placing the wales closer together. 


CHAPTER V. 


CONSTRUCTION WITH SHEET-PILES * 

Water pressure against the sides of a sheet-pile coffer-dam 
is seldom provided for in an accurate manner, the thickness of 
the piling being usually decided upon from past experience, as 
are also the size and spacing of the guide-piles and wales. 

These are points where guess-work should be eliminated, as 
otherwise good coffer-dams are often seen where the pressure 
has so bulged the plank as to cause leakage. While this may 
perhaps be corrected by additional bracing, simple calculations 
may easily be made to determine the size beforehand. 

The pressure against a coffer-dam may act as at (a), Fig. 40, 
the sheet-piling being in the condition of a beam fixed at one 
end and loaded with a gradually increasing weight, as shown 
by the dotted lines, due to the pressure of water or puddle at 
62.4 pounds per cubic foot. Then the load on a width w of the 
wall is 124 .Swd 2 and the moment of the pressure is 83.2 wd 3 . 
Taking the allowable unit stress on wet timber at 1,000 pounds 
per square inch, the thickness t of the sheet-piling may be obtained 
from the formula 

/ = \/.496d 3 , 

in which d is to be taken in feet, and the resulting value of t will 
be the thickness in inches of the sheet-piling. 

* The assumption that the pressure of puddle will be the same as water pressure 
is made advisedly. It is true that very wet clay, approaching a fluid condition, 
will exert a much greater pressure, but it would then be useless as puddle. Dry 
clay would exert a pressure of less than half that due to water, so it has been assumed 
that wet clay or puddle would exert the same force as water. Should it exceed it 
for a short time no damage would be done, owing to the low unit stress adopted. 

63 




Depth Water to Wales in Feet. Depth water = 2c? 


64 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 






W 


Thickness Piling in Inches. 
SIZE PILING, DIAGRAM (a). 



(e) Distance between Wales in Feet. 
SIZE PILING. DIAGRAMS.(b & c). 



Fig. 40.—Arrangement and Diagrams 



fg') Pounds Per Square Inch Allowable. 
TIMBER STRUTS-WET. 


Stzes for Sheet-pile Coffer-dams. 

















































































































































































































































































CONSTRUCTION WITH SHEET-PILES. 


65 


This formula has been expressed in a graphic manner in 
diagram (d), Fig. 40, from which, knowing the depth of water 
2d, the thickness of piling may be read directly without calculation. 

The addition of a strut, as at (6), Fig. 40, places the sheet¬ 
piling in the condition of a beam supported at the upper end and 
fixed at the lower end, but for practical reasons it is best to 
consider it as merely supported at both ends. The load will be 
the same as in the former case, 124 .Swd 2 , but the maximum 
moment will occur at a point # which is a distance from the top 
equal to 1.16 times d, and has a value of 32 wd 3 . The thickness 
t may be found from the formula 

/ = \/ .ig2d 3 . 

When the section of the plank to be calculated is located as 
“5” in ( c ) of Fig. 40, it is in the condition of a beam fixed at 
both ends and loaded with a uniform load m and a triangular 
load n. The exact analysis of this is too lengthy to be taken up 
here, and reference may be made to page 195 of Wood’s “Resist¬ 
ance of Materials.” 

For practical purposes we may consider the load as all uni¬ 
form and due to the head acting at the middle of the span. This 
will give a load of 62.4^5 on the span 5 for a width w, and a 
moment of 7 .Sds 2 , which gives a formula for practical use, for 
a unit stress of 1,000 pounds per square inch of 

t = \/ .047 ds 2 . 

This is closely represented graphically in diagram (e) of Fig. 40, 
which may also be used for case ( b ) by taking the depth of water 
to the middle of the span. For example, when the depth of 
water to the middle of the span is 15 feet, find this in the vertical 
column to the left, and if 6-inch sheet-piles are to be used, follow 
the horizontal through 15 feet until it intersects the 6-inch curve 
and vertically beneath will be found the maximum spacing of 
wales, 7 feet 3 inches. 

The size and spacing of wales may be taken from a similar 




66 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


diagram (/) of Fig. 40, which assumes the guide-piles to be 8 feet 
apart. The spacing of struts or braces will vary so much that 
the load must be calculated, and when this and the length are 
known the size may be calculated from diagram (g) of Fig. 40,. 
which is for wet timber. 

From the formula 

p = 600— 7 (l + d), 

in which p is the allowable stress in pounds per square inch, l 
is the unsupported length in inches, and d the least side of the 
stick in inches. ' 

Where two rows of sheet-piling are to be driven to form a 
puddle-chamber, if they are to be efficiently braced from the 
inside of the coffer-dam, it will be sufficient to have a thickness 
of puddle of from 2 to 4 feet to exclude the water, depending on 
the quality of the puddle. Where there is to be no internal 
bracing, but two rows of sheet-piling braced together and filled 
with puddle are to resist overturning, the common rule is to 
make the width of the puddle-chamber equal to the height above 
ground, up to 10 feet. When the height exceeds 10 feet, add one- 
third to the excess height to 10 feet for the width. 

When the puddle-chamber becomes very wide it is often 
divided into several compartments, as was shown in Fig. 5, and 
stepped in a similar manner. When the bottom is rock over¬ 
laid with a thin deposit of clay or gravel, the sheet-piles may 
be driven around an open crib-work for support, as was done 
at Harper’s Ferry, on the B. &. O. R.R. 

Where the guide-piles are to be used, the waling-pieces are 
framed in, as was specified on the Hutcheson Bridge, as shown 
at (a), Fig. 41, where the guide-piles are of sawed timber. The 
wales are spaced slightly farther apart than the thickness of the 
sheet-piles, to allow clearance in driving, the space between the 
guide-piles being filled out with a key pile to fill the panel tightly. 
This method is but little used with tight piling, that shown at (, b)> 
Fig. 41, allowing the piling to be driven continuously, by removing 
the spacing blocks as they are reached, and substituting bolts 


CONSTRUCTION IVITH SHEET-PILES. 


67 


through the sheet-piles, firmly connecting the piles and wales 
together. 

A very satisfactory method is described in the Engineering 
News of May 12, 1892, which was used by A. F. Walker. Having 
occasion to do a large amount of work it was desirable not to 
go to the expense of squared guide-piles. Round guide-piles ( P ) 
were first driven 7 feet apart, and cut off to a level. Caps were 
then drift-bolted to the tops, allowing them to project slightly 
beyond the face of the round piles, thus forming a permanent 






A 

ri~i> ... N 

L, i- f 

i>—=? 

^ y ■ * 

-P A 

at 


(a) ORDINARY SHEET-PILE GUIDES 



(6) GUIDES WITH SEPARATORS 


Fig. 41.—Sheet-pit. 




Guides and Clamps. 


support for the top of the sheet-piles. Near the ground line 
was placed the clamp, consisting of two sticks (A r ) and (I ), 
connected by three bolts and drawn together as tight as the inter¬ 
vening piles or pile and gauge-block (G) will permit. The stick 
(Z) is then forced forward by the wedges (IT) until the space 
between (Z) and (T) is the same as the thickness of the piles. 
The pieces (A), ( 7 ), (Z) are slotted for the middle bolt, and 
this permits of some adjustment. When one of the piles par¬ 
tially closes this slot, a notch is cut in the same large enough to 
receive the bolt, and the bolt is then slipped up to it and tightened. 
This allows of the next pile being driven as close as the others. 
When one panel has been completed the nuts are removed and 
the clamps moved forward to the next one, a notch being cut 


































































68 


ORDINAR Y FOUND/1 T/ONS. 


in the end pile to receive the end bolt of the clamp. The piles 
are sharpened flatwise with a little more slope on the side facing 
the guide-piles, giving them a tendency to drive away from the 
guide-pile at the foot and bear against the cap at the top. A 
slight bevel is also given to the edge to make the foot crowd the 
adjoining pile. During the first half of the driving, the joint 
is held a little open at the top, but during the latter half, pressure 
is brought to crowd it toward its neighbor, and the joint will 
close as tightly as possible. 

The use of single pieces of timber as wales, against which 
the sheet-piling is driven, is illustrated in the use of method ( b ) 
of Fig. 38, by Benj. Douglas, bridge engineer of the Michigan 
Central Railway. The coffer-dam (Fig. 42) was built without 
guide-piles, the wales being 12 X 12-inch timber bolted against 
the outside of the sheet-piling, by the brace rods 1 inch in diame¬ 
ter. The wales are held in place vertically by bracing of 2 X 12- 
inch pine plank, which are spiked on as verticals and diagonals 
to form a truss and also to stiffen the framework in general. 

The sheet-piling is 6X12, and after being driven into the 
hard gravel bottom, the cracks were lapped by i-inch boards. 
The bottom was uneven and accounts for the difference in height, 
the excavation at the high end being dumped outside at the 
low end, to assist in making the dam tight. The puddle-chamber 
was 2 feet 8 inches wide and was filled with clayey gravel. The 
plan also shows the grillage in place for receiving the foundation 
courses of the stonework. This is formed by 12X12 timber 
crossed, and drift-bolted together with i-inch round and 18-inch 
long drift-bolts. 

The account of the Arthur Kill Bridge foundation in Vol. 27 of 
the “Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers,” 
by A. P. Boiler, consulting engineer, covers a very interesting 
experience with sheet-piling on pier No. 5: “This pier is near the 
edge of the marsh forming the Staten Island shore, which is barely 
flooded at extreme high tides. Borings indicated about 30 feet 
from the surface to hard bottom, consisting of mud, mud and clay, 
clay and shale to he bottom of shaley clay, in which the pier was 


NOTE: Outside wales to be similarly 
braced with 2 x 12pine 


CONSTRUCTION WITH SHEET-PILES 



Ss 


K 


< 




F IG . 42. —Coffer-dam for Ann Arbor Bridge. Michigan Central Railway. 













































































































































































































































7 ° 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


to be founded. Experience on other work of a similar character 
indicated that the founding of this pier would be accomplished 
with little difficulty. The area of the foundations was inclosed 
with a tongued-and-grooved sheet-pile dam of 4-inch yellow pine 
plank. But it was found impossible to hold the plank at a depth 
of 15 feet, the mud and clay becoming puddled with water, and 
despite all efforts at bracing, the plank shoved inward to such an 
extent as to spoil the whole dam before we were half way down. 
A second dam was therefore driven around the first one, but this 
time with 10X 12-inch tongued-and-grooved timbers, in one length 
to reach the extreme bottom. These timbers were grooved by 
slitting the grooves out at the mill with a circular saw, and chiseling 
the blank so formed free. The tongue was an independent spline, 
2JX4 inches, of dry wood and nailed in one groove. The timbers 
were shaped at the feet to drive close. This dam was hard driving, 
but was finally accomplished, when digging was resumed and the 
old dam removed piecemeal as we could get in the braces. The 
bottom was reached within a perfect dam, with only one bad leak 
in the northwest corner, due to the shattering of a small piece of 
one tongue during the driving. As it was impossible to stop this 
leak from the inside, and the outside was inaccessible, to prevent 
washing the concrete, the leak was led off in a box at the side of 
the dam to the sump-well, and the footing course of concrete, 
filling the whole area of the dam about seven feet deep, was gotten 
in place.” 

This example emphasizes in a very decided manner many of 
the statements that have been made heretofore. While no doubt 
the removal of the old dam was attended with much expense, its 
inclosure entirely within the new sheet-piling rendered the prose¬ 
cution of the work comparatively certain. 

An example of the driving of sheet-piling on a slant, to prevent 
crowding in at the bottom, is shown in Fig. 43, which is a cross- 
section of a sewer coffer-dam used on the Metropolitan Sewerage 
Systems of Massachusetts by Howard A. Carson, chief engineer, 
and described in the Engineering News of Feb. 8, 1894. 

The outlet into the ocean at Deer Island begins at a point about 


CONSTRUCTION WITH SHEET-PILES. 


7 1 


60 feet inside the high-water line, and about 1,850 lineal feet is from 
5 to 10 feet below high water. This necessitated the coffer-dam, 
which was constructed with bents every 6 feet and with 2-inch 
plank inside the high water-line, but for the remaining distance of 
4-inch matched plank. The excavation was done by means of 
buckets, traveling-derricks, and dump-cars, the latter being emp¬ 
tied at the sides and ends of the trench. The leakage from the 



ocean was kept out by using centrifugal pumps, which pumped a 
maximum of 46,000 gallons per hour. The concrete, which has 
large boulders imbedded in its surface the size of paving-stones, 
was carried up to the level of the ocean bottom. 

From the middle of June, 1893, when the work was begun, to 
the end of September, 526 feet of trench were completed. The 
size of the trench was 14 feet average depth and 10.8 feet average 
width, which made the excavation average 5.6 yards per lineal 
foot. The cost for the trench, including coffer-dam, sheeting left 
in, and back-filling, was $44.00 per lineal foot. 

Casual mention has been made in several places of the use of 
Wakefield sheet-piling which was illustrated at h and h f of Fig. 
38 and which is further shown in Fig. 44. View No. 1 is of a 
































































































































72 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


corner which is formed as in the plan No 2, a tongue being bolted 
on the side of a pile, when the corner is reached as in No. 3. 



Fig. 44.—Wakefield Sheet-piling. 


Any angle is turned by a similar method, which is shown by No. 4, 
or the piles may be driven to form a curve. The essential fea- 




















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































CONSTRUCTION IVITH SHEET-PILES. 


73 


tures of the system are the triple lap or long tongue and groove 
which excludes the water, and the use of ordinary plank, which 
can be easily obtained. The center plank should be sized to a 
uniform thickness, to insure the tongues fitting the grooves, and 
to make driving easy, while the three plank are to be bolted and 
spiked together to cause them to act as a compound beam and 
not as separate plank like the system of ( b ), Fig. 38. It is rec¬ 
ommended to use a 2j-inch tongue on i-inch boards and f inch 
bolts. For ij-inch plank a 3-inch tongue, for 2-inch and 2^-inch 
plank a 3j-inch tongue and J-inch bolts, while for 3-inch plank a 
3^-inch tongue and f-inch bolts are to be used, and the same 
size bolts for 4-inch plank, but a 4-inch tongue. Two bolts are 
to be staggered in every 5 to 8 feet of the length of the pile, and 
spikes used between the bolts on long piles. 

The La Grange lock on the Illinois River was inclosed with 
this piling, under the direction of Major W. L. Marshall, Corps 
of Engineers. It was intended to back the sheeting with earth, 
but as both dredges broke down the water-tightness was entirely 
dependent on the Wakefield piling, and under a 7-feet head no 
leaks were developed. The piles were made of three plank 
3X12 inches by 22 feet long and with a 3-inch tongue; they were 
driven by three pile-drivers with hammers of from 2,800 to 3,000 
pounds through sand and mud, and in one place a layer of shells. 
There was no difficulty experienced in driving the piles without 
special appliances. 

The use of i-inch boards in this form (Fig. 45) is described 
by H. F. Baldwin, chief engineer of the C. & E. I. Railway: 
“In constructing our second track over the Kankakee River at 
Momence, Ill., it was necessary to extend the piers in that river. 
The bottom is limestone and the surface is very irregular. We 
tried several days and finally succeeded in constructing a coffer¬ 
dam with two parallel walls of sheet-piling. We then tried the 
Wakefield triple lap-piling, constructed of i-inch boards sharp¬ 
ened to an edge, 2J tongue and groove, which were driven with 
sledges until the piles, which were soft pine, conformed to the 
uneven surface of the rock. This piling was driven around 


74 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


cribs loaded with stone, and, after the piling was driven, gravel 
was put outside the coffer-dam, after which no trouble was expe¬ 
rienced in pumping out the water.” 

The work on the foundations of the new B. & O. R.R. bridge 
over the Potomac River at Harper’s Ferry was similar in many 
respects to the above, and the system was found to be very satis¬ 
factory. 

References were made to the use of this piling on the Charles¬ 
town Bridge at Boston and the driving of the piles shown in Fig. 



Fig. 45. —Type of Momence and Harper’s Ferry Coffer-dams. 

39 The work was under the charge of Jno. E. Cheney, con¬ 
sulting engineer, and was successfully carried out. The piling 
were driven principally as forms for concrete foundations, and 
but little care was taken to make the dams water-tight. After 
the concrete was deposited they were used as coffer-dams against 
a 6- or 7-feet head of water. They were 18 feet 6 inches by 119 
feet (Fig. 46) and in some cases were 30 feet below low water or 

40 feet below mean high water. The piling was made of 2-inch 
plank and driven with an ordinary pile-driver. The pumping 
was done with a 20-inch centrifugal pump, and in some cases a 
12-inch Follansbee pump of the propeller type was used. 

The construction of the sewerage system at Fort Monroe, 
Va., under Capt. Thos. L. Casey, Corps of Engineers, is de¬ 
scribed in the report of the Chief of Engineers of 1896. The 
work was done on the general plans of Rudolph Hering, con¬ 
sulting sanitary engineer. One of the special difficulties en- 
































CONSTRUCTION WITH SHEET-PILES. 


75 


countered “was the building of a sewage tank 50 feet in diame¬ 
ter, with walls of brick 2 feet in thickness, exteriorly diminishing 
to 3 feet at the center, the inferior reference of which was 20 feet 
below low water. As described in the report referred to, this 
was accomplished very successfully by excavating a large area to 
the reference of ground-water, some 5 or 6 feet below the surface, 



Fig. 46. —Coffer-dam on Charlestown Bridge. 


and then driving by the pile-driver and wateivjet combined, two 
concentric twelve-sided polygons of Wakefield sheet piling 28 
feet in length, 30 and 22 feet from the center, about the circum¬ 
ference of the shallow excavation. (Fig. 47.) The material, 
consisting of fine water-soaked sand, with a small admixture of 
clayey matter and fine gravel, was then excavated between the 
polygons to a reference of 20 feet, transverse shoring braces bear¬ 
ing upon stout stringers being put in at intervals as the work 
proceeded. The material did not vary much in its general 
nature, but a number of old piles were taken up, some of which 









76 ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 

did considerable injury to the sheet-piling when driven, as shown 
in the subsequent excavation. The water was controlled by a 
powerful steam-pump having its point of suction fixed, the water 
being permitted to flow toward it throughout the circumference. 
It was noticed that ground-water came through the sheeting very 
freely at first, but that it constantly ceased to flow to any great 



Fig. 47.—Reservoir Coffer-dam. Fort Monroe, Va. 


extent at a height of a few feet above a point of excavation as this 
continually descended, owing to the rapid drainage of the strata. 
The interior core, in fact, became quite dry, so that in excavat¬ 
ing after the walls were laid, no water was encountered until the 
bottom of the external concrete ring had been virtually laid bare. 
Upon attaining the reference—20 feet, the excavation ceased and 
hand-mixed concrete was deposited directly upon the bottom, as 
this was considered to be sufficiently firm, the pump being 
stopped temporarily in order to prevent a flow. The concrete 
was rammed firmly against the outer sheeting externally and 


























CONSTRUCTION WITH SHEET-PILES. 


77 


against plank forms with triangular cross-section resting against 
the inner sheeting internally, until 6 feet in depth had been put 
in place. The portion of the ring at the pump suction was filled 
rapidly with concrete in bags. The 2-feet brick wall was then 
carried up from the axial line of the concrete ring, the space 
between the wall and the outer sheeting filled with sand, except 
about 6 inches at the base of the wall, which was of concrete. 
The braces were removed as successively attained, the inner 
prism of dry sand being held securely by the sheeting and the 
extreme top struts, which were left in place until the inner core 
was completely excavated. On the completion of the latter 
work to reference—20 feet, the water which came in freely from 
without under the concrete ring at several points was conducted 
in a peripheral trench to the fixed point of pumping. No water 
came upward and the middle portions of the bottom became 
perfectly dry. The inner sheeting was cut off at the base of the 
ring, boards were placed transversely over the peripheral trench, 
a duck tarpaulin coated with hot asphalt laid down, and con¬ 
crete rammed in place until the concave bottom with sump chan¬ 
nel had been completed, leaving only the pipe, through which 
the ground-water had been pumped continually, night and day at 
about 1,000 gallons per minute, penetrating the concrete. In 
order to fill this pipe, it was cut off above the level of permanent 
ground-water, and after the water within had attained the level 
of ground-water in the surrounding area and had become per¬ 
fectly quiescent, neat cement in paper bags was dropped within, 
being retained at the bottom by the closed valve; the bags were 
readily broken up by a long pole thrust down the pipe. The lat¬ 
ter was then cut off at the level of the bottom and a coating 
of cement plaster applied throughout. The resultant leakage 
through the bottom did not exceed about a gallon a minute and 
this will be greatly reduced by the infiltration of sand from 
beneath.” 

Further illustrations of the use of sheet-pile coffer-dams will 
be given; then the operations of dredging, pumping, and con¬ 
creting described at some length. 


CHAPTER VI. 


CONSTRUCTION WITH SHEET-PILES (CONTINUED). 

Various combinations of the sheet-piling shown in Fig. 38 
may be made, when occasion demands, or modifications may be 
made that will perhaps render the available material more effec¬ 
tive. For example, the form (g) may be modified to the form 
shown in Fig. 48, which has the advantage of a wider lap, and 



should the piles not draw tight together in driving, no crack will 
be left open to admit the water. Then the piles of this form will 
act as guides to the ones being driven, similar to the ordinary tongue- 
and-groove piling. Other combinations and arrangements will 
readily suggest themselves as necessity may demand. 

The use of sheet-piling is often accompanied by a great deal 
of trouble in producing tightness, and as a matter or precaution, 
the very best method possible should be adopted in making the 
piling. 

The coffer-dams constructed at Chattanooga for the Walnut 
street bridge over the Tennessee River, under Edwin Thacher, 
consulting engineer, were described in the Engineering News 
of May 16, 1891. 

Four piers were founded by this method, but the account of 

78 




















CONSTRUCTION tVITH SHEET-PILES. 


79 


pier No. 2 will fully illustrate the work. The bed-rock, which 
was level, was covered by cemented sand, gravel, and boulders, of 
which 320 yards were removed. The coffer-dam was built 18 
feet high, or 8 feet above low water, to provide for a future rise. 
The inside was made large enough to allow of a space of 4 feet all 
around the base of the pier, and the space between the sheet-piles 
for a puddle-chamber was made 9 feet. This was filled to an 
average of 12 feet with a clay puddle, of which there was 900 yards 
used. As a protection, there was placed outside the dam about 
450 yards of puddle, and a breakwater was built up-stream. 
About 38,000 feet of timber were used in the dam and breakwater. 


El. 0 
El. -8 


Bed of River 



TTUmTuT 



After the dam was completed a rise of 30 feet washed out 
about half the puddle, and one end was crushed by a raft, but the 
repairs were made without serious trouble. No extra amount of 
pumping was required on any of this work except pier No. 3, 
where the seams in the bed-rock required pumps with a capacity 
of 5,000 gallons per minute, and these did not suffice to keep the 
water down, until the seams were closed by laying sacks of concrete 
over them and weighting them down with large stones. The loca¬ 
tion of these seams is shown in Fig. 49. 

The framework and wales for a sheet-pile coffer-dam, used 
in founding the pier for the Baltimore street bridge at Cumber- 































So 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


land, Md., are shown in Fig. 50, and this was described in the 
Engineering News of July 21, 1892, by H. P. Le Fevre, engineer 
in charge. The frame was built in place on two canal-boats and 
after completion was suspended from the old Boilman truss which 
the new bridge replaced. 

The depth of the water was 4 feet, and about 6 feet of 
very loose quicksand and small round pebbles overlaid the hard 
bottom. 

After the boats were removed, the frame was lowered to its 
place, the sheet-piling driven, and the dam pumped out with a 
6-inch pump. The foundation was laid on the hard bottom under 
the quicksand, after this had been removed. 

The grillage was made of two courses of 15 X 15-inch clear 
white oak, around which was built a framework, and the open 
spaces of the grillage were then filled with a concrete made up of 
one part of Cedar Cliff cement to two parts of sand and four parts 
of hydraulic limestone broken to pass through a 2-inch ring. 
Upon this were laid the footing courses of the masonry. 

Another ordinary sheet-pile coffer-dam which gave good satis¬ 
faction was used at the Sandy Lake dam on the Mississippi River, 
by Major W. A. Jones, Corps of Engineers, and as the account con¬ 
tains so much of value it will be quoted in full from the 1894 report 
of the Chief of Engineers 

“The coffer-dam is composed of two rows of round piles, 12 
feet from center to center of piles, with the exception of 62 feet of 
the east end of the upper part, where they were driven 14 feet from 
center. The piles in each row are 8^ feet from center to center, 
cut off at an elevation of 1,217 feet above sea-level and capped with 
12 X 12-inch timber. The inside row of sheeting is 4 X 12-inch, 
and the outside 6 X 12-inch plank. The sheeting is cut off at an 
elevation of 1,218 feet above sea-level, or 2 feet below the flowage 
line. One-inch rods of round iron, 8J feet apart, pass through 
the caps to prevent the filling from spreading the two lines of 
sheeting at the top. 

In May, 1892, when a flood occurred, the outside of the coffer¬ 
dam was raised 3 feet by splicing 3-inch planks to the outside row 


CONSTRUCTION V/ITH SHEET-PILES. 8 1 




Fig. 50. —Framework of Coffer-dam, Cumberland, Md. 












































































































8 2 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


of sheeting and then tilling the triangular prism thus formed with 
earth. The cross-section of Fig. 51 gives an idea of the dam 
above the bottom, while the longitudinal section shows the framing 
down to where it rests on the bottom, the frames being joined by 
the 1-inch lateral rods of iron. 

The total length of the coffer-dam is 829 feet, of which 742 
feet is like that shown in cross-section and the other 87 feet like 
that shown in the longitudinal section. 

The number of round piles driven in the foundation is 1,605. 
The driving was commenced on November 12, 1891, and com¬ 
pleted on August 21, 1893. 

The material in the foundation is sand, excepting in the 



Fig. 



51.—Sandy Lake Coefer-dam. 


lower right-hand corner, where there is some blue clay over- 
lying the sand. The sand in the foundation is not as compact 
as it is usually found in the bed of streams. In the south half 
of the dam, the surface settled from 6 to 4 inches during the 
driving. As the surface was settling, the driving became harder 
all the time. In the north half, which embraces the navigable 
pass, there was some settlement, but it was not as noticeable as 
in the south half. The surface had probably settled by the 
jarring of the hammers while the first half was being driven. 
The penetration of the piles is also greater than it usually is in 
sand foundations in the bed of streams. 

The piles were all of Norway pine and well seasoned. Two 
Mundy steam hoisting-engines were used in driving, one a single¬ 
cylinder and the other a double-cylinder engine. In operating 
the hammer a ^-inch manila rope was attached to the pin con¬ 
necting the lugs of the hammer, then passed over the sheave 






























































CONSTRUCTION WITH SHEET-PILES. 83 

at the top of the leaders, and next around the drum of the 
hoisting-engine. 

When the hammer falls, it pulls the rope with it and unwinds 
it from the drum. This is what is termed driving with a ‘slack 
line.' The blows are more rapid and keep the material around 
the piles looser than it would be in the case of using nippers. 
Iron rings of Norway iron were used to protect the head 

of the pile. 

It is a well-known fact in pile-driving that it is very important 
to keep the material from settling around the pile, once it has 
been loosened, until the pile is down; for when the material 
has settled, or even partially, the penetration is diminished. The 
greatest load on a bearing pile is about 13J tons. 

Sheet-piling was driven by a pile-driver, assisted by a jet of 
water from a steam force-pump. In driving all sheet-piles a 
cast-iron cap or follower was used which fitted over the head 
of the pile. On the upper side of the follower there is a wooden 
block of some seasoned or close-grained wood which receives 
the blow of the hammer. This device saves the head of the pile 
from being battered or splintered, and the pile can be driven 
to a greater depth than it could be without it. 

In first using the jet on a sheet-pile, a groove was made in 
the inner edge to receive a J-inch gas-pipe, which was connected 
to the force-pump by means of a i-J-inch hose. The aperture 
at the lower end of the gas-pipe was reduced to a diameter of 
about f inch. The water was thus forced to the bottom of the pile 
and the sancl loosened. 

This worked well until the sheet-pile struck gravel, when the 
nozzle of the pipe would become battered or filled with gravel. 
The pressure in the hose would then burst a coupling somewhere. 
Another source of trouble was the frequent breakages in the 
connection between the pipe and the hose, on account of the 
jarring of the hammer. This plan after a while was abandoned 
and the nozzle of the pipe was thrust by hand under the point 
of the pile. The piles are driven in the ground from 12 to 14 
feet.” 


8 4 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS . 


The construction of the Main street bridge at Little Rock, 
Ark., involved the construction of two coffer-dams, for piers 
No. 9 and No. 6. This work was done under the direction 
of Edwin Thacher, consulting engineer, whose original speci¬ 
fications called for pile foundations for these piers, the piles to 
be driven to bed-rock and cut off 4 feet below low water, to receive 
a grillage of 12 X 12-inch timbers to receive the masonry. The 
size of the grillage being 12 and 13 feet wide by 34 feet long and 
resting on forty-eight and sixty piles respectively, the piles being 
of good sound oak or pine at least 7 inches in size at the small 
end and not less than 12 inches at the butt when sawed off. 

The coffer-dams were constructed, as can be seen from the 
view in Fig. 52, by driving guide-piles, to the top of which are 
drift-bolted square guide-timbers. The sheet-piling of 3-inch 
tongue-and-groove stuff was driven against the outside of this 
timber, and the excavation banked up against the outside. They 
gave excellent satisfaction and caused little trouble as the water 
was shallow. 

The piers were constructed of Portland cement concrete, the 
facing of 2 inches thickness being a mortar of one part cement 
to two parts of sand, while the balance was of concrete of one 
part cement, three parts sand, and six parts of broken stone. 

Where sheet-piles are to be driven on rock bottom or through 
earth or gravel to rock bottom, they should be driven hard enough 
to broom up and form a close joint with the rock. This has been 
accomplished also by driving the piles with a thin edge until 
they fit the rock bottom, when they are drawn and after cutting 
them to conform to the contour of the rock, they are redriven, 
thus forming a tight joint. This method while very good, is 
too expensive for general adoption. 

Coffer-dams are quite frequently constructed for the repair 
or removal of existing piers. A pier which was constructed in 
1840 in the river Farnitz, at Stettin, Germany, became an ob¬ 
struction to navigation and it was decided to remove it. The 
work was described in the Engineering News of July 14, 1892. 

Its exterior showed a facing of granite laid in hard Roman 


CONSTRUCTION IVITH SHEET-PILES. 


85 


cement, and soundings revealed the existence of a course of sheet¬ 
piling around the pier, with a protection of riprap at its foot. 
The original drawing of the pier showed a pile foundation. The 



F IG . 52.—Coffer-dam and Concrete Pier, Little Rock, Ark. 


specification prescribed the use of the old course of sheet-piling 
shown at a, Fig. 53, for the construction of the coffer- 














86 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS . 


dam. Owing to the belief that the existing sheet-piling, after 
having served such a length of time, would not be sound 
enough to permit of its use in the erection of a coffer-dam, local 
contractors could not be found and the work was let to an outside 
contractor. 

The preliminary work was begun by picking up the riprap 
around the foot of the pier with a claw dredger mounted on a 
raft. Some of the stones weighed as much as a ton. The bottom 
of the river, after the riprap had been cleared away, was found 
to be covered with a layer of concrete, consisting of pieces of 
brick and cement. This was brought up in large slabs. The 
pier itself was found to be of rubble masonry, composed of irregu¬ 
lar-shaped granite blocks with the interstices filled with brick, 
laid in cement mortar. The single stones were detached and 
swung off by the claws of the dredger. Their average weight 
was about i-J tons. 

After the masonry had been pulled down to nearly the level 
of the water a row of sheet-piling, shown at b in Fig. 53, con¬ 
sisting of piles 7 inches thick, was driven to a depth of nearly 
10 feet. The space between the old and new sheet-piling was 
filled with new clay. To keep the interior free from water two 
pumps were employed. After putting in the necessary bracing 
the work of removing the masonry to the bed of the river was 
continued. A shell of the latter, however, was left standing. 
Then the timber platform on which the masonry had been resting 
and the layer of concrete below were taken out, exposing a layer 
of clay underneath. While attempting to pull one of the founda¬ 
tion piles a stream of water rushed through the opening thus 
formed, so that this plan had to be given up and blasting resorted 
to. To do this the tops of the piles were bored to a depth of 
13 feet and filled with 8.8 pounds of dynamite each. The initial 
charges consisted of 10.6 ounces in air-tight canisters. The 
shell of masonry left standing received four cubical charges of 
8.8 pounds each. In all sixty-eight charges, consisting of 616 
pounds of dynamite, were used. The electric current for the 
blast was divided into three currents, each being attached to 


CONSTRUCTION WITH SHEET-PILES. 


87 


an induction apparatus. The blasting, however, did not prove 
to be as effective as was anticipated, owing to the dissolving 
action of the water, and several charges were taken out intact. 
The clearing away of the wreck was almost entirely done by 




Fig. 53.—Removal of Masonry Pier at Stettin, Germany. 

the claw dredges. The piles, which were split and loosened in 
their sockets by the force of the explosion, were pulled up by 
windlasses mounted on flatboats. The work of removing the 
pier lasted nearly nine months and the cost was about $8,700. 

Another example of the removal of a pier was at Gadsden, 
Alabama, where a pivot pier in the Coosa River had tilted. The 

















































































































































88 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


pier had been built originally in a water-tight caisson and was 
supposed to have been founded on solid rock, but by some error 
a layer of gravel was left underneath and eventually the pier 
tilted down-stream 7 feet, nearly throwing the swing span into 
the river. 

After the span had been blocked up to allow the passage of 
trains, a coffer-dam was built around the pier to give plenty of 
clearance to the old caisson. (Fig. 54.) This was constructed 
by driving three rows of sheet-piling through sand and gravel 
to bed-rock and puddling between them. 

The sand and gravel over the rock was not removed from the 
bottom of the puddle-chamber before puddling and a great deal 
of trouble was experienced all through the work by leakage 
through the porous gravel. It is probable, too, that a poor joint 
was made between the sheet-piling and the rock. 

Bents were erected upon the sides of the coffer-dam and by 
driving piles into the puddle and inside the dam, to carry a truss 
on each side of the span, which carried the drum and supported 
the main trusses at the center. When this had been tested by 
loading with trains of ore upon the bridge and found to be satis¬ 
factory, work was at once begun upon the removal of the old 
pier, by means of two fixed derricks on the false work and one 
floating derrick. The stones were marked as they were removed 
to insure their return to proper places when the pier was rebuilt, 
and were taken to the shore until needed again. When the 
masonry was all removed the grillage was broken up and taken 
out, after which the gravel inside the coffer-dam was cleaned 
out down to bed-rock. New footing courses were laid to take 
the place of the gravel and old grillage, and the old stonework 
relaid by placing each course in its former position as nearly 
as possible. The pier was about 80 feet high and contained 
about 1,100 yards of masonry. The work occupied from Sept. 
15 to Dec. 25, 1888, and was done under the direction of Cecil 
Frazer. The description is taken from the Engineering News 
of April 13, 1893. 

The construction of the piers for the Philadelphia and Reading 


CONSTRUCTION WITH SHEET-PILES . 


89 


Railroad bridge over the Schuylkill, was accomplished by the 
use of a floating coffer-dam, the foundations being laid upon 
the bed-rock. 



a 

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1—1 


When in position for work the dam is rectangular in shape, 
62 feet long, and 36 feet wide, outside dimensions, and 16 feet 
high. Each side consists of timber crib-work 10 feet wide, 

























































































































































































































































































9° 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


making the inside dimensions 42 'Xi 6'. At each corner there 
is a movable timber extending vertically from the bottom of 
the crib to some distance above the top. These timbers or spuds 
are shod with iron on the bottom, and serve to hold the dam 
in position while the sheet-piling is being driven. The dam is 
divided vertically through each short side into two equal parts, 
which can be floated separately to any desired position and after¬ 
wards joined together. Water-tight compartments are also used 
to hold stone when it is desired to sink the cribs. 

When the two sections are united and placed in required 
position the spuds are dropped and the crib-work is sunk by 
letting water into the water-tight compartments, and putting in 
the necessary amount of stone. 

Any irregularity in bearing between the bottom rock and the 
bottom of the crib is then corrected by a diver, who blocks up 
where required. Close sheet-piling of jointed plank 3 or 4 inches 
thick is then put on the outside and spiked to the cribs. Puddle, 
composed of clay and gravel, is then thrown around the bottom 
outside, and the dam is ready to be pumped out. When the 
masonry reached the height of the braces they were taken out 
and the dam was braced against the masonry. 

The maximum depth of water encountered at Falls Bridge 
was 13 feet at ordinary water-level. Several freshets occurred 
during the progress of the work which did some damage to the 
dam. At one time, when a dam was ready to be pumped out, 
a rise in the river moved it down-stream about 30 feet, tearing 
off the sheet-piling. It was drawn back to place and success¬ 
fully completed. To make a complete shift of the dam from 
one pier to the next, with a gang of six men, required about six 
or eight days, divided as follows: To take the dam apart and 
reset it, about three days; to sheet-pile, about two days; to puddle, 
about one day; and pumping out and puddling meanwhile required 
about one to two days, depending on the amount of the leakage. 
At each shift, a portion of the plank sheet-piling, perhaps 10 per 
cent., had to be replaced by new stuff. The pump used was 
located on a small steamboat, and was run by a steam-engine. 


CONSTRUCTION iVITH SHEET-PILES. 


9 1 


The amount of pumping required after the dam was once pumped 
out varied for the different piers; some dams required little 
pumping and others a good deal. Only one of the foundations 
required much leveling off of the river bed, and this one also 
gave considerable trouble to keep the water out, but the leaks 
were finally stopped by using gunny bags around them; the 
bags being drawn into the crevices by the force of the water, thus 
holding the puddle. 

The floating dam was used for the three piers in the river 
channel, the two piers near the shore being put in with ordinary 
dams. The floating dam is still in good condition and could be 
used again if needed. The original dam, of which the one used 
at the Falls Bridge is an enlarged copy, was used for twenty-three 
or twenty-four settings. 

The foregoing account is taken from the Engineering News 
of May 24, 1894, the description being by W. B. Riegner, who 
states also that the cost of the coffer-dam, including one set of 
sheet-piling, was $3,000, while the total cost for five coffer-dams, 
including the two crib coffer-dams at the sides of the river, was 
$14,000. 

The subject of subaqueous foundations has been very fully 
treated in a series of lectures by W. R. Kinipple, M. Inst. C. E., 
before the Royal Engineers’ Institute at Chatham, England. 

The use of 6-inch pitch-pine close sheeting was made use of 
"by him for a quay wall in the harbor of St. Helier, Jersey. They 
were driven to rock or as deep as possible with a 2,800-pound 
hammer, and the tops cut off a few feet beneath half-tide level, 
and clayey material banked up against the outside. The bot¬ 
tom through which the sheet-piles were driven was sand and 
clay. 

The rock was laid bare to a depth of as much as 13 feet below 
low water and in sections which contained about 900 tons of 
water to be pumped out; this was done with a 16-inch centrifu¬ 
gal pump in about forty-two minutes. 

Several leaks were developed under the piles, but they were 
promptly stopped by “stock ramming.” The stock rammer 
which is shown in Fig. 55, is 3 inches in diameter, 3J feet long, 


9 2 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 



Fig. 55.—Stock 
Rammer. 


and banded top and bottom with iron. A f-inch air-hole is 

bored up from its foot a distance of 20 to 30 
inches, and covered on the bottom with a sole- 
leather flap, so that air is let in and suction 
prevented as it is withdrawn. The sheet-piles 
have 3^-inch holes bored through their sides, 
and cylinders of clay are inserted 3 "Xg" long, 
similar to the work at Sault Ste. Marie. 
The stock rammer is inserted and driven by 
mauls as far as its length will permit when 
it is drawn out, and other charges inserted 
until no more clay can be driven. The 
hole in the pile being filled with a wooden 
plug. 

The piers for the Putney Bridge, over the Thames, were built 
by the same engineer, with single pile-dams to a great depth, by 
using 14-inch square piles, with elm-wood tongues, and driving 
them down through the mud and clay to the stiff clay bottom, 
so that practically water-tight work was secured. 

In the construction of the docks at Victoria, British Columbia, 
he constructed a coffer-dam 500 feet in length, in a depth of 35 
feet of water, the bottom being of rock and overlaid in places 
with sand and shells several feet in thickness. At the center the 
sand and shells overlaid a bed of clay. 

Three rows of close 12X 12-inch sheet-piling were driven 
with two puddle-chambers of 7 feet each between. The guide- 
piles were 15X15 inches and the wales were 12X12 inches. 

Where the dam rested on rock at the ends, heavy shoes were 
used on the piles and concrete deposited around their feet to make 
the work water-tight. This dam was completed in October, 
1879, and remained thoroughly tight until the dock was com¬ 
pleted over seven years later. 

The arch bridge at Topeka, Kansas, over the Kaw River, 
which is being constructed on the Melan system, of concrete and 
steel, by Keepers and Thacher, the designing engineers, is a 
most interesting piece of work. The coffer-dams were required 
by the specifications to be water-tight, and to effect this 4X 12-inch 

























CONSTRUCTION WITH SHEET-PILES. 


93 



tongue-and-groove sheet-piling was used. The size of the coffer¬ 
dam for pier No. 4 was 18X 55 feet in the clear (Fig. 56) and the 
piling was driven about 16 feet into the sand bottom or 22 feet 
below low water. The driving was done by a 1,600-pound 
hammer with 36 feet leads; the power being furnished by a 
15-H.-P. hoisting-engine. 


Fig. 56.—Topeka Bridge, Coffer-dam No. 4. 

“A” shows puddle to stop leak. 

No puddle was used around the outside except to stop leaks, 
and the dam was kept clear of water with a No. 6 Special Van 
Wie sand-pump. The capacity of the pump was 3,000 gallons 
per minute of water, and from 60 to 80 yards of sand per hour. 
It was operated with a 15-H.-P. engine. The other piers were 
handled in a similar manner and with no particular trouble. 

The growing scarcity of timber will doubtless lead to the use 
of metal at some time in the future, to replace sheet-piling for 
coffer-dams, but where timber is abundant and reasonable care 
is exercised in its use, it will continue to be of great service in 
obtaining foundations by this method. 








































































CHAPTER VII. 


METAL CONSTRUCTION * 

Thin steel shells have been used extensively for foundation 
work, but in the majority of cases they have been retained as 
essential features of the permanent construction. 

This is more particularly the case in locations where stone 
is scarce or expensive and it becomes necessary to substitute 
some other material for foundations. Tubular steel piers are 
constructed of two tubes, ranging from 24 inches to several feet 
in diameter, or, in the case of pivot piers, from 15 feet, with a 
single tube for a pier, to 30 feet or more. 

In a number of instances the steel shells for ordinary piers 
have been made oblong, in the general form of a stone pier, and 
braced internally to hold them in shape during sinking, after 
which they are filled with concrete. 

The metal shells for the Hawkesbury Bridge in Australia 
were of this character, 20 feet wide, 48 feet long, and with rounded 
ends. Each one was provided with three dredging-wells, each 
8 feet in diameter, through which the dredges shown in the view 
(Fig. 57) were operated. While these piers were not used as 
coffer-dams, they were made water-tight by boiler-riveting, so 

* Metal caissons have been used much more frequently in this country than 
have metal coffer-dams, the reasons being the cheapness of timber and its more 
easy application. 

In England metal coffer-dams are more frequently used. The example given 
in this chapter—the Forth Bridge coffer-dams—might have been supplemented 
by reference to those used on the Clarence Bridge at Cardiff, the construction used 
being illustrated and described in Engineering, and is especially notable for the 
design of the bracing. 


94 



METAL CONSTRUCTION . 


95 


that by pumping water in and out the displacement could be 
kept constant, and in this way control the pier in an average tide 
of 5 feet. These piers were sunk, by dredging out the material 
from the inside, to the great depth of from 135 feet 8 inches to 



Fig. 57.—Hawkesbury Bridge. 

Caisson No. 6 in Process of Sinking, Showing Excavator and Shore Chains for 

Maintaining Vertical Position. 


197 feet below the pier tops, or a distance of 155 feet below low 
water. 

Both inclined and vertical cutting edges were used, with the 
result that the inclined ones were of frequent trouble and the 
vertical ones none whatever. 

“If it is essential to increase the bearing surface at the bot¬ 
tom of the caisson to an area which is not required in the upper 
portion, this end can be secured by a vertical cutting-shoe of con¬ 
siderable height, with a step or steps into the smaller diameter. 
This is quite as efficient to secure the end in view as a long incline 
































































































































9 6 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


on the cutting-shoe, and has decided advantages. In the denser 
material the vertical sides leave the ground undisturbed for some 
height close to the skin of the caisson, and a vertical guide is secured 
which is entirely wanting in the case of an inclined shoe. This 
guide is valuable in cases where the soil may differ in density under 
the shoe, and particularly so if the excavation has been carried too 
far below the bottom of the shoe. With an inclined shoe and a 
slip of soil into the dredging-well from one side more than another, 
experience in deep dredging has shown that there is a decidedly 
greater tendency to a horizontal movement than with a vertical 
shoe. The former has a flare to direct this sidewise motion in the 
first place, and nothing but a certain amount of disturbed material 
above the shoe to resist this tendency.” 

The above account is from the Engineering News of January 
5, 1889, the work having been done under the direction of J. F. 
Anderson, of the firm of Anderson & Barr. The shells were 
filled with concrete up to low water, and masonry built from low 
water up to the top of the piers. 

Such work may be made water-tight by riveting according to 
ordinary boiler-maker rules, or if extra thick plates are used this 
can be exceeded and the rivets spaced some farther apart. The 
joints may be made with ordinary laps and calked, or a very much 
better appearance may be obtained by the use of butt joints, and 
if desirable to avoid calking, then a calking strip may be used to 
make the joints tight. This is merely a cloth or canvas strip, 
thoroughly saturated with paint paste, and is laid between the 
metal surfaces, and the riveting draws the plates upon it and a 
tight joint will result. The shells will be filled with concrete as 
soon as the piers are in place and the foundation prepared, so that 
only a temporary use is required of the strip. 

When metal cylinders are used simply as casings for concrete 
they need not be made water-tight, as they can be dredged out and 
have the concrete deposited through the water. The metal should 
never be less than J inch in thickness, and on first-class work T 5 g- 
to J inch is preferable. Railroad work of this character is usually 
constructed of f-inch metal for ordinary depths. 


METAL CONSTRUCTION. 


97 


The pivot pier of the bridge over the Little Bras d’Or River in 
Cape Breton was constructed of seven metal cylinders braced 
together. The center tube was 4 feet in diameter, while the six 
outside cylinders were 3 feet in diameter. (Fig. 58.) The center 
pivot, about which the span revolves, rests on the center tube, 
while the track is supported by the other tubes, but resting directly 
on rolled beams covered with f-inch plate. 



Fig. 58.—Group of Cylinders for Pivot Piers. 


The tubes rest on a clump of piles, cut off at the bed of the 
stream, with one pile extending up into the center of each tube 
about 6 feet, around which the concrete was deposited, thus pre¬ 
venting displacement. Concrete and stone were placed on the 
outside up to 15 feet, as a protection. 

This work was described by Martin Murphy in Trans. Am. 
Soc. C. E., Vol. 29, who also describes a pier for the Victoria 
Bridge, over Bear River, constructed with two tubes, resting on 
piles cut off at the bed of the stream, but having four piles inside 
each tube. (Fig. 59.) Around the outside are timber, concrete, 




























































































































































9 s 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


Scale of Feet 

t» . « I.’ ■ » i 



and broken stone as a protection. The saw used for cutting off the 

piles under the water was very much 
simpler than the one shown in Fig. 35, 
and is illustrated in Fig. 60. 

Cylinder piers on European work 
are often of very elaborate construc¬ 
tion. The bridge on the Aa, at the 
crossing of the Russian Riga-Orel 
Railway, is supported on elegant 
cylinder piers, with molded caps, 
steel cutwaters, and are braced to¬ 
gether with cylinders transversely. 
(Fig. 61.) This forms a very efficient 
construction, but so expensive to manu¬ 
facture that it is usually replaced by 
bracing of struts and rods, as in Fig. 

Fig. 59 ,-Pie* of Two Cylin- 59. ° r by a metal diaphragm (Fig. 62 ) 

ders, Victoria Bridge. stiffened with angles. 

Cylinders of water-tight construction and of large diameter 
may be used as coffer-dams where they are sunk into impervious 
strata, or by sealing them with concrete around the bottom where 
they are placed upon smooth rock bottom. In the construction 
of lighthouses such cylinders have been placed upon clean rock 
bottom, through from 12 feet to 18 feet of water, and concrete 
deposited around the circumference of the base outside and inside 
to make them water-tight, after which they were pumped out and 
the foundation laid. 

To withstand the pressure of any considerable depth of water 
the thickness and strength should be calculated and the construc¬ 
tion carefully designed. Unless the depth of water exceeds 10 
feet, or the diameter of tube exceeds 6 feet, the minimum thick¬ 
ness, it is advisable to use, will be sufficient for strength. 

This refers only to quiescent pressure, and any shock must be 
carefully considered and taken account of, by interior bracing if 
necessary. 

The most thorough discussion of the strength of thin, hollow 



















































































































METAL CONSTRUCTION. 99 

metal cylinders is given in “Elasticitat and Festigkeit,” by C. 
Bach. This considers the cylinder to have sides of a greater thick¬ 
ness than is true with pier shells, and having one radius given, the 
radius to the other side of the plate is found from the formula, the 
stress being variable from the inside to the outside of the plate. 



Fig. 60.—Circular Saw for Cutting off Piles under Water. 


For thin cylinders the stress may, without appreciable error, 
be assumed to be uniform over the cross-section of the plate, and 
the thickness t in inches be found from the formula 

t = .ooirh, 

where r is the radius of the cylinder in feet, h is the depth of 
the water to the section in feet, and t in no case to be used less than 
\ inch in thickness. 

jo > » 


) 















































































Cylinder-pier Bridge, Riga-Orel R. R., Russia. 






























METAL CONSTRUCTION. 


IOI 


This is on the assumption that the metal will stand 5,000 pounds 
per square inch in compression with safety. For large cylinders, 
or for rectangular shells, girders and stiffeners or ties and struts 
must be added to prevent distortion. 

The foundations for the great Forth Bridge, which were con- 



Fig. 62.—Cylinder Piers, with Diaphragm.' 

structed under the direction of Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin 
Baker, required the use of various methods to reach solid bearing, 
as the enormous weight to be carried required the most substantial 
piers obtainable. 

The use of coffer-dams of metal for the Inch-Garvie piers is 
described by Engineering: The site of the two north or shallow 
piers being wholly submerged at high water, and about half in 
the case of the northeast and three-fourths in the case of the 
northwest pier, submerged also at low water, the preliminary 
work was tidal, and between spring tides no work could be car- 
ried on at all at this place. When it is considered how exposed 
the position was there—the work having to be carried on upon 













I 02 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


a narrow ledge of rock attacked by wind and waves from all sides 
—it will be understood that the progress could not be very rapid. 
The conditions of the contract here required that the rock should 
be excavated in steps, and that the rubble masonry comprising 
the foundation of the circular granite piers (Fig. 63) should be 



Fig. 63.—Circular Granite Pier as founded by Coffer-dam, 

Forth Bridge. 


bound by an iron belt 60 feet in diameter and 3 feet deep; the 
highest portion of the rock upon which this belt rested to be 2 
feet below low water; the belt, or at any rate a part of it, to be 
brought down to form a protection for the foundation rubble 
masonry upon the lower steps. 

It was therefore decided to cut a chase 8 feet wide (3 feet to 
the inside and 5 feet to the outside of the 60-feet circle) out of the 
rock where it was higher than 2 feet below low water, to make 
the 60-feet belt of three thicknesses of J-inch plate and to carry 
the center plate downward, after it had been cut, in such a man¬ 
ner as to fit as nearly as possible the natural contour of the rock. 
(Fig. 64, A.) A light staging was, therefore, erected above high 
water, the correct center of the pier placed upon it, and by means 
of a trammel-rod 30 feet in length, from the end of which a 
pointed sounding-rod was suspended, a correct reading was 
taken every 6 inches on the circumference of the 60-feet circle, 
after a diver had been around to clear out any loose stones lying 
in the line, or picking off any sharp points projecting. These 














































































































































































METAL CONSTRUCTION . 


10 3 

readings were plotted and the center plates cut to it. In the 
meantime work had been done upon the chase, and, when nearly 
cut down to the right level, the belt was put together on the stag¬ 
ing exactly above the site of the pier. The plates, projecting 

INCH-GARVIE N.W. IRON COFFER DAM 

SECTION THROUGH SHIELD & 




OUTSIDE VIEW OF SHIELD 


Fig. 64. —Forth Bridge. Metal Coffer-dam. 

downward and forming the shield, were stiffened by I bais ver¬ 
tically over the butts, and where required to be carried down to a 
considerable depth, as in the case of the northwest pier, they 
were further stiffened by horizontal circular girders and stayed 
to the rock by bars of angle-iron. The whole belt was now 
riveted up, and when ready received two coats of red-lead paint, 
and was lowered down to position by means of hydraulic jacks. 
(Fig. 64, B.) The top edge of the 3-feet belt was then leveled all 
round, and corrected where necessary. A heavy angle-iron 6" 






























































104 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


XC"Xl" ran round the inside of the 3-feet belt, and upon this 
was now set a single tier of temporary caisson, 10 feet in height, 
and consisting of fourteen segments of about 30 cwt. each in 
weight. This helped to keep the belt down to the rock, and a 
number of heavy blocks of stone were placed on the top of the 
caisson for the same purpose. A sluice door in the lower part 
was kept open to admit of the tide flowing in and out. 

Steps were now taken to make good the joint between the 
3-feet belt and the shield and the bed-rock. This was done in 
the following manner: A number of concrete bags, about 14" 
X30", and 8" to 9" thick, were prepared and passed down to a 
diver, who laid them round the outside of the belt at a distance 
of about 4". A second row was laid next round the outside 
of the first row, and tolerably close up, the space between the 
two being made up by clay puddle well stamped down. Any 
split or hole or crevice in the rock was also filled with clay. 
Upon these two lower rows other bags were now laid crosswise; 
upon these, two rows lengthwise, and a fourth row crosswise on 
the top, which was laid close up to the belt. This was done in 
sections of about 15 feet to 16 feet length all along the shield, but 
round the outside of the treble belt only two bags deep were laid. 
On the inside also a single row of clay bags, backed by a row of 
concrete bags, and loaded with stones, was laid round the com¬ 
plete circle. Cement grout, without intermixture of sand, was 
now prepared and passed down to the diver—but only at slack 
tide, high water, or low water—who lifted off one or more of the 
top bags and poured the grout into the narrow space left, until it 
overflowed. He then replaced the bag and proceeded to the 
next division, until all was done. Forty-eight hours were allowed 
to elapse for the setting of the cement; the sluice valve was then 
closed and the caisson pumped out gradually. When leaks were 
discovered the diver descended to examine the outside, and 
'where necessary, cut out some of the grouting and replaced it by 
new. 

As it was not considered that this cement joint would be able 
to stand the full pressure of the tidal rise the coffer-dam was 


METAL CONSTRUCTION. 


io 5 

worked as a half-tide one, it having to be pumped out every tide 
as soon as the water had fallen below the top edge of the tempo¬ 
rary caisson. In addition to the hydrostatic water pressure, the 
caisson had to stand the heavy seas thrown against it, whether 
coming from east or west. Under these circumstances it was 
often considered advisable not to pump out the coffer-dam, but 
leave the sluices open and allow the tidal flow free access. Under 
such conditions it will be easy to see that, during a season of bad 
weather, much delay could not be avoided, and though the work 
of excavation had been commenced in the summer of 1883 it was 
not till the middle of April of the following year that the first 
rubble masonry could be laid in this pier. In working the exca¬ 
vation no blasting was done within ij feet of the iron belt, but 
the rock was quarried up to within 6 inches and the rubble then 
built in at once. Any steps cut in the deeper portion were invari¬ 
ably at least twice as broad as they were deep. The deepest 
point to which the excavation had to be carried in this pier was 
8 feet below low water. 

The coffer-dam or caisson for the northwest pier, Inch-Garvie, 
was done in the same way precisely as described for the northeast, 
only that owing to the experience gained by the divers and other 
men engaged upon the work the progress was much more rapid. 

In the northwest pier the depth of the shield was 15 feet 
below low water, and extended to nearly one-half of the circum¬ 
ference. There was, therefore, in addition to the vertical I 
bars which covered the butt joints of the shield-plates, three 
horizontal circular girders, carried at a distance of 4 feet 6 inches 
from each other; and from these a number of horizontal tie-bars 
with cross-bars at the ends were carried radially and level to 
the rock opposite and pinned to it, and afterward built into the 

solid rubble masonry. (Fig. 64, B.) 

This mode of making the joint between the rock and the iron 
belt was simple and quite effective. Most of the leaks were due 
to natural crevices in the rock, running from the inside to the 
outside at a considerable depth. These were circumvented by 
building small clay dams round, and leading the water by a 


io 6 


OR DINAR Y hO UN DA 7 IONS. 


chute to the pump. Leaks were also caused by the action of 
heavy waves running up to the temporary caisson at low water 
with great violence, and shaking the whole fabric. 

The whole of the northeast pier was built in a half-tide caisson, 
as the work was not pressing; but in the case of the northwest 
pier, as soon as the rubble masonry inside had been brought 
up to a low-water level a second tier of temporary caisson was 



Fig. 65. —Forth Bridge. Circular Granite Pier and Metal Coffer-dam. 


added, and the work could then be carried on at all states of 
the tide. While tidal work was carried on in these two coffer¬ 
dams the amount of water which had to be pumped out every 
tide was 250,000 gallons in the one case and 340,000 in the other. 
The time occupied was 50 to 55 minutes, but work was, of course, 
commenced as soon as the higher parts were laid dry. For 
pumping out smaller quantities of water collected through leaks, 
pulsometers or small centrifugal pumps were used. 























































ME TAL CONS TRUC TION. 


107 


An exterior view of the work is shown in Fig. 65, and while 
the method was successful and worthy of much study, the ex¬ 
pense would only be justifiable where the metal would be retained 
as part of the permanent foundation, which was the case on this 
work. 

In many cases such a shell could be designed of the proper 
size for the footing course, and after use as a coffer-dam in ob¬ 
taining the foundation it could be filled with concrete and serve 
as a base for the pier. Being made in sections vertically, por¬ 
tions projecting above low water could be removed and used 
on still other piers. 

Metal sheet-piles were used on some harbor work at Cux- 
haven Harbor, Germany. These were hollow metal sheet- 
piles of elongated, elliptical sections; and, after being driven, 
were filled with concrete. 

Metal sheet-piling is being largely used in the United States, 
mainly of the Friestedt patent type. This is described in the 
Engineering News as follows: 

“In many foundation works, particularly in quicksand and 
wet ground, the ordinary timber sheet-piling cannot be used 
to good advantage, and on works of this kind the use of steel 
sheeting is now being introduced. Fig. 66 represents a style of 
steel sheet-piling which has been used for the sheeting of founda¬ 
tions, mine-shafts, and also for coffer-dams, locks, etc. 

“The cut clearly shows the construction of the sheeting and 
also two arrangements for corner construction. The piles con¬ 
sist of ordinary 15-inch, 33-pound rolled channels (with metal 
| inch thick), each alternate channel having riveted to it two 
steel Z bars, forming grooves to receive the flanges of the adja¬ 
cent channels. These bars are 4 // X3 // X3", | inch thick. In 
this way the piles are so firmly interlocked that a line of sheeting 
will resist heavy pressure without the aid of shoring or bracing. 
In water the joints are soon calked by the accumulation of mud, 
sand, or dirt, but if the water should be very clear, a little saw¬ 
dust, paper, pulp, manure, etc., may be thrown in near a leak, 
which will soon be sealed. In the Mississippi River coffer-dam 



ioS 


ORDINAR Y FOUND A Ti ONS. 


at St. Louis, noted below, the alternate piles had two angle-irons 
iV'X 2 ^"X 2" riveted on (as shown in the cut) to form calking 
grooves in which strips of wood might be fitted. These, however, 
have been found unnecessary and have been omitted on part 
of the work. 

“This steel sheeting has been used for sinking mine-shafts 
through quicksand, and for the foundations of the Union Traction 
Building at Cincinnati and the new Railway Exchange Build¬ 
ing at Chicago. The latter will be a seventeen-story ‘sky- 



Fig. 66.—Friestedt Sheet-piling. 

scraper ’ office building, at Jackson Boulevard and Michigan 
Avenue, and the site will be excavated to a depth of nearly 30 
feet. As there is a bed of quicksand underlying the site, it was 
decided to completely surround it with a steel sheeting, driven 
to a depth of 30 feet, which will resist the pressure from the out¬ 
side and so prevent flow or caving which might injuriously affect 
adjacent buildings. This work is now in progress. An ordi¬ 
nary pile-driver with a 2,000-pound hammer is used, the head of 
the pile being fitted with an iron cap having a wooden cushion 
and a wooden striking-block. The sheeting has been used also 
to form the coffer-dam for the new power-house of the Union 


































































































Fig. 67. —Coffer-dam, C. B. &; Q. Ry., with Friestedt Piling. 











I IO 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


Electric Light & Power Co., at St. Louis (Eng. News, Nov. 6 
and Dec. 18, 1902). The location is on the bank of the Missis¬ 
sippi River, and a coffer-dam, 40'X 360', was built of the steel 
piles, 50 feet long, braced only by cross-walls dividing it into 
panels or sections, 4o / X6o'. 

“The piles are rolled of any length up to 60 feet, and can be 
spliced for longer lengths. In many cases it can be pulled up and 
used over again, and discarded material will have a high scrap 
value.” 

The cross-section of piling is shown in Lig. 66, while Lig. 67 
shows some work on the C., B. & Q. Ry., on which it has been 
used. Whatever the class and form of material it may be decided 
to use in securing a foundation by the coffer-dam method, the 
temporary construction should be so related to the permanent 
foundation that as much as possible of the material used and 
labor employed will be of service in the finished structure. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


CYLINDERS AND CAISSONS. 

The preceding chapter discussed to some extent the use 
of tubes filled with concrete for cylinder piers, and the details 
of their manufacture and placing will now be more fully treated. 

It is customary in many bridge shops to make the vertical 
distance between rivet lines of tubes exactly 5 feet, thus making 
it possible to carry in stock plates for the manufacture of highway 
piers, these plates being 62J inches in width and of varying lengths 
equal to the circumference of various-sized tubes, plus the 2\ 
inches for lap, as is also used for vertical lap. 

These plates are then laid out; that is, the location of the 
rivet holes marked by standard wooden templets; after the plates 
are punched they are rolled in boiler bending rolls, and assem¬ 
bled in as great lengths of tubes as can be handled on the cars 
for shipment, or hauled from the railroad to the bridge site, or, 
in the case of large tubes, in as long pieces as can be erected. 
This is very often only one section in length with the vertical 
seam riveted. 

The sections of tubes with lap-joints are alternately large and 
small, the diameter differing by a little over twice the thickness 
of the plates, so as to telescope (Fig. 68); the small section in 
every case having the outside diameter equal to that specified 
for the cylinders of the piers. 

The tubes also have holes to which the bracing between them 
is attached, which usually consists of struts and sway-rods. 

Railroad piers of this type are generally manufactured from 
material which is rolled to conform to a particular specification, 


hi 



11 2 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


TABLE I.—TUBE WEIGHTS AND QUANTITIES. 


Thickness and Order Length. 


Diam¬ 
eter of 
Tube. 


Ins. 

15 

IS 

21 

24 

27 

30 
33 
3 6 

39 

42 

45 

48 

54 

60 

66 

72 

78 

84 


X 


A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 

A 

B 


Ft. Ins. Ft. 


4 I 
4 2I 

4 ioj 

5 0 
8 


9 ? 

5 

7 

2-2 

4 

o 


5 

5 

6 

6 

7 

7 

8 

8 11 

8 gl 

8 n‘ 

9 7 
9 8.1 

10 4I 

10 6 

11 2 

n 3. 

11 11 

12 1 

12 84 
12 10 
14 35 

14 5 

15 i°i 

16 o 


i 7 
1 7 
19 

19 

20 
20 
22 


5 

7 

o 

il 

7 

8 

i 4 


4 

4 

4 

5 
5 

5 

6 

6 

7 

7 

8 

8 

8 

8 

9 

9 

10 

10 

11 
11 

11 

12 
12 
12 

14 

14 

15 

16 

17 
17 
19 

19 

20 
20 
2 2 
22 


All Quantities Below for Two Tubes 
or One Pair. 







Weight of one 5—ft. 

o-in. 










Section. 


'O 0 0 


+-> 

r }l 0 

r? 

/ 

$ 

] 

s 

2 





tx P +5 
^ Cl, u 

. CU 

bci p. 

M.S d 




X 

r /i <1 

X 



co\U 

> 

. Ins. 

Ft. 

Ins. 

Ft. 

Ins. 








o’ 





448 

560 



. 090 

30 

45 

.1 







10 





532 

664 



• 13^ 

40 

60 

0 

75 

92 





616 

770 

.178 

55 

80 










5 

7 

700 

874 

.232 

70 

i°5 







2\ 





780 

980 



. 296 

85 

13° 

42 

O 

2 

92 
I l5 

7 

8 

8 

Ill 

2 

9 

. 

1302 

1428 

. 

864 

948 

1084 

1190 

•3 6 4 

.440 

115 

i35 

i 6 5 

i95 




8 

n4 










6| 

9 

61 

9 

6 

1032 

1290 

1554 

2080 

•524 

i55 

220 

8! 

9 

9 

9 

95 







4 

10 

4 

10 

35 

1116 

1394 

1680 

2242 

. 614 

180 

265 

6 

10 

61 

10 

6i 







1-2 

11 

15 

11 

1 

1200 

1500 

1806 

2408 

. 712 

210 

310 

35 

11 

4 

11 

4 








11 

11 

11 

11 

iol 

I284 

1604 

1926 

2576 

. 820 

240 

355 

1 

12 

1 

12 

il 








82 

12 

8 

12 

8 

I3 6 4 

1710 

2052 

2744 

•930 

270 

400 

io| 

12 

10J 

12 

11 








35 

55 

14 

3 

14 

2 5 

I53 2 

1920 

2304 

3080 

I.178 

345 

5i° 

14 

55 

14 

6 








10 

15 

10 

15 

95 

1700 

2124 

2556 

3408 

I • 454 

425 

630 

0 

16 

°5 

16 

°5 




5 

17 

5 

i7 

4l 

1864 

2336 

2802 

3746 

T *7~R 

i • / A 

5i° 

760 

7 

17 

7 

i7 

75 








0 

18 

115 

18 

115 

2032 

2546 

305 6 

4080 

2.094 

605 

900 

2 

19 

2 

19 

24 








61 

20 

61 

20 

6 

2 200 

2750 

33° 6 

4416 

2.458 

710 

1055 


20 

9 

20 

95 







1 ) 

35 

22 

35 

22 

1 

2364 

2960 

3554 

4746 

2.850 

830 

1235 

22 

22 

4 



1 





Note.—T o get weight of shells for one pier divide height of pier by 5, multiply by weight 
of section, add in caps (which include cap-lugs). 

Per cent, of rivets: For i 5 "Xi", 3%; 4 S"X 5 /i 6 ", 2*%; 8 4 "XT', 2%. For other sizes use 
value for smaller size. 

and the sheets can be ordered of such widths as will best suit each 
particular case. The tubes are made with butt joints and with 
much closer rivet spacing than is used for highway piers; that is, 





















































CYLINDERS AND CAISSONS. 


in place of 4 to 5-inch spacing, they are spaced usually from 3 
to 4 inches centers. 

Frequently angle rings are riveted around the tops of the 



NOTE:- Make tubes of 02^'sheets, plus one 
narrower ring. 

Horizontal spacing about 5 in: 

Locate connections from horizontal 
gauge lines. 

F IG . 68 .—Order Diagram Cylinder Piers. 

tubes, and sometimes around the bottom to stiffen them, and 
in some cases are used to attach cap-plates to covei the tops, 
but it is better practice to carry a richer concrete above the top 
several inches and round it off around the edge to shed water. 













































































































































114 ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 

The erection of the tubes to form piers is very often left to 
careless or incompetent foremen ; but while the design of the metal 
work may be easily carried out to conform to some standard, 
each case of erection requires special treatment, and should be 
placed in careful and experienced hands. 

Where the bottom is soft, the material should be removed to 
a harder stratum or to a considerable depth before the tubes 
are set in position, the placing of them being carried out by means 
of a gin-pole, a derrick, or a gallows-frame, as may be found 
necessary. 

Should the hard stratum not be reached before the tubes are 
set, the excavation must be proceeded with by excavating inside by 
hand; or if this becomes impossible, by using machinery, such as 
a small orange-peel dredging-bucket which is small enough to go 
inside the tube. Very soft material may be removed by pumping 
it out with a centrifugal pump. Where the material is too hard 
for the tube to sink of its own weight as the excavation proceeds, 
then it must be weighted in some way. This has been done by 
adding a section or so to the tube, or by building a platform around 
the top and loading it with the excavated material. Where even 
then the cylinder sticks, a water-jet used around the outside may 
overcome the skin friction and assist the sinking. 

The tubes need only be sunk to such a depth as will insure 
against scour, as shown in Fig. 69, unless by going a reasonable 
additional distance hard enough material may be reached, so that 
within the area of the cylinders of one pier sufficient bearing 
capacity will be had. 

Otherwise piling in sufficient number must be driven inside 
each tube to carry the load, and these must be cut off near enough 
to low-water line to insure their keeping constantly wet to prevent 
rot. Enough space must be left between the piles, and between 
the piles and the metal shell, in which to tamp concrete. 

Another plan very often used for supporting cylinder piers on 
soft ground is to drive piles to carry a grillage on which to set and 
fasten the tubes. The grillage may be drift-bolted to the piles, 
which have been cut off to a level, or the grillage may be fastened 


CYLINDERS AND CAISSONS. 


IJ 5 

to the bottom of the tube and the whole then lowered onto the 
piles; guide-piles around the sides being used to insure the proper 
placing, and to anchor the tubes in position. With such a foun¬ 
dation, riprap stone should always be used for protection from the 
current of the stream, and riprap should always be used wherever 
there is any possibility of scour. 

Where the pier is placed in the current a crib should be placed 
around it, if protection is necessary, and the space between the 



crib and the cylinders filled with riprap. (Fig. 70.) Enough rip¬ 
rap should also be placed outside of the crib to protect that from 
scour. 

Where there is solid rock on which to place the cylinders, they 
should be anchored to it in some way. In shallow water this is 
usually done by placing a coffer-dam around the pier so that the 
rock can be leveled off whatever it is necessary, and anchor bolts 






















































































ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS 


116 



Fig. 70.—Cylinder Tier with Crib. 






























































































































































































CYLINDERS AND CAISSONS. 


117 


used to anchor the cylinders in place, the anchor bolts passing 
through lugs on the bottom, or through the legs of an angle-rim. 
If the rock is at all uneven and it is impossible to lay it bare to do 
the leveling off, then the bottom of the tube should be cut to fit the 
irregularities as they are learned from soundings. Anchors may 
be placed by drilling into the rock and setting old railroad rails into 
the drill holes, allowing the rails to project up several feet into the 
cylinders. Then when the cylinders are placed, concrete may 
be deposited in them under water by some of the approved 
methods. 

It is very often advisable to put a crib around a pier on solid 
rock in order to protect it against the force of the current, drift¬ 
wood, and floating ice. 

Considerable mention has already been made of piers being 
sunk by dredging out inside either tubes, such as have just been 
treated of, or larger metal piers, such as were used for the Hawkes- 
bury Bridge. In the United States, owing to the fact that timber 
is so plenty and cheap, it has been the practice to use piers similar 
to those of the Hawkesbury Bridge with the caisson and crib of 
timber instead of metal. An example of this type of pier is shown 
in Fig. 71, which was designed by the author for a draw pier for 
the Northern Pacific Railway Company. The outside diameter 
of the octagonal crib being 38' 4", and the total height of the 
pier being 84' above the cutting edge. The caisson proper is 
built up solid of timber with one cross-cutting edge, which was 
deemed advisable on account of the large diameter of the pier. 
The height of the caisson to the roof is 8' 6", while the roof 
consists of three layers of 12X12 timbers, each of which is thor¬ 
oughly calked and pitched. The sloping sides of the caisson 
walls are stepped to avoid the bulging pressure during sinking, 
instead of straight as has been customary on work of this character. 
This is a detail of construction which has been developed by 
J. A. L. Waddell, M. Am. Soc. C. E., on large work of this charac¬ 
ter which he has completed and which will be mentioned more 
fully in this chapter. 

Above the caisson a timber crib is carried up to low water, and 


1 IS 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


the outside of the caisson and of this crib are thoroughly calked, 
covered with tarred ship-felt and planked, the ship-felt and 




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plank serving as additional protection for water-tightness and as 
protection against the teredo, while the planking also very materi¬ 
ally strengthens the crib. Above the top of the crib a temporary 









































































































































































































































































































































CYLINDERS AND CAISSONS. 


119 


1 rib coiler-dam is used to exclude the water while laying the con¬ 
crete, although it is possible, on account of the 16 feet range of 
tide, to lay most of it in the dry with ordinary concrete forms. 

Instead of dredging out the material with sand-pumps of the 
ordinary type or with dredging-buckets, the Hendy hydraulic’ 
elevators No. 5 are used, Fig. 72, with a water pressure of 12 ^ 
pounds. An elevator of this sort can be shifted around and the 
material dredged out of different parts of the caisson, so as to 
cause the pier to sink evenly. But, should it be impossible, for 
any reason, to keep the pier plumb, this can be corrected by the 
permanent water-jets, as indicated in the sections of the pier. 
Some of these jets come out at the cutting edge and some of them 
along the sides of the pier. It has been found possible, however, 
to accomplish better results by using separate jets at such points 
on the outside as may be necessary. Should the jets fail to correct 
the trouble, then it is necessary to resort to the use of dredging on 
the outside, although this is not very often resorted to. With a 
pier of this sort the caisson is constructed on shore up to such a 
height as will bring the top of the timber above the water after it 
is launched and floated. (Fig. 73.) It should then be carried up 
rapidly enough, so that as the concrete is filled in it will be kept 
above the water until the pier is landed on the bottom as it is sunk. 
Only sufficient concrete of course can be put into the pier to keep 
it sinking properly, and with the crib calked and water-tight, it 
can be pumped out and the concrete laid in the dry. The concrete 
specified for this work was one part of Portland cement, three 
parts of sand, and five parts of screened and washed gravel. A 
facing of mortar 1 to 3, with a thickness of ij inches, is specified 
for the facing, and the entire coping of 1 to 2 mortar reinforced 
with wire-netting and railroad rails, so as to carry machinery 
at any point. 

Upon the pier reaching the proper depth and the wells being 
cleared of all material, they are filled to about 40' above the base 
with concrete, which is first put into the caisson through the water 
until the caisson is sealed. Then the wells are pumped out and 
the balance of the filling put in in the dry. 


123 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS 











Fig. 73.—Caisson Northern Pacific Pier. 



















1 22 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


Piers of very similar design were used for the bridge over the 
Fraser River, at New Westminster, B. C., under J. A. L. Waddell, 
consulting engineer. There were five piers of this type, some of 
them having a total height exceeding 125'. The endeavor was 
made in the design of the caissons and cribs to deposit as nearly 
all of the concrete as possible in the dry. All the timber work was 
thoroughly calked and, on account of the calking on the roof 
timbers being on the opposite side from what was necessary for 
resisting the pressure, pitch was used on all the seams, consisting 
of crude resin mixed with a sufficient quantity of tallow so that it 
would be stiff and yet not too brittle. This was mixed in a kettle 
and the ordinary pitch vessel used for pouring it into the seams. 
In one of the first piers constructed only the seams of the 2" 
sheathing were calked, and there was considerable leakage; so 
that all of the seams in the other cribs were calked, including the 
12X12 timbers. The experience had on this work points to the 
advisability of using two threads of oakum in all this calking. 
Where the jet-pipes pass through the roof of the caisson it was 
found necessary to seal the openings with pitch or a rich grout, and 
the entire surface of the rock was covered with an 8" layer of rich 
concrete, it being placed while the deck was above water-level. 
On account of the trouble had from leakage around the pipes, 
the later piers had these carried down through the well holes. In 
building up the cribs the timbers were lapped at the corners and 
well drifted, and were found to be stronger than the ordinary 
method of dapping. The solid timber portion of the work was 
drift-bolted at every crossing, thus tying the corners permanently 
together. When a small amount of penetration had been gotten 
on piers Nos. 4 and 5, the concrete work about the wells was carried 
above the surface of the water, and all timber work about the 
wells except the sheathing omitted. With pier No. 3, however, 
a great deal of trouble was found in holding the crib plumb, and 
it was never possible to carry the concrete to the level of the water- 
surface. Consequently solid well timbers were carried up to the 
very top of the crib. In sealing the wells the amount was regulated 
by the height of the crib. This was decided upon at 75 feet for pier 


CYLINDERS AND CAISSONS. 


123 


No. 5, and 50 feet of sealing was used; while for piers Nos. 3 and 4, 
lifts of 55 and 65 feet were used respectively, this sealing being 
allowed to set a week in each case. For any work of this character 
the caisson timbers should be very thoroughly fastened together 
and ordinary ship-building methods employed to the extent of 
using a great many through-bolts riveted down on clinch-rings. 
With a circular or octagonal crib the cutting edge should be spliced 
together at all points sufficiently strong to make a tension-ring 
about the bottom to take up the bulging pressure. 

Pneumatic caissons cannot be considered as coming strictly 
under the head of ordinary foundations, although there are many 
cases where they could be employed much more cheaply than 
the methods which are finally adopted, besides assuring a first- 
class piece of work, where with some other method there may 
be more or less guesswork about the result obtained. In the 
construction of an ordinary highway bridge at Chillicothe, Ohio, 

in 1898, after designs by the author, it was decided by the engineer, 

* 

A. W. Jones, to employ pneumatic caissons in founding the piers, 
as it was possible to let the contract for slightly less than $13 per 
cubic yard of caisson and crib, or not very much in excess of 
what any other type of pier would have cost. One of these piers 
is shown in detail in Fig. 74, carried to bed-rock 30 feet below 
low water. The caisson of this pier was 7 feet 8 inches in width, 
27 feet 8 inches long and 6 feet 2 inches high. The out-to-out 
dimensions were 12 feet 4 inches in width by 32 feet 4 inches in 
length. The sides and roof of the caisson were 2 feet in thick¬ 
ness, built up of 12X12 timbers, each course being fastened 
to the one below with drift-bolts 30 inches long and spaced 4 
or 5 feet centers. The two courses on the sides and ends were 
firmly fastened together by two rows of J-inch bolts extending 
through both courses. The two bottom layers of timber were 
beveled off on the inside to form a 4-inch “cutting edge,” this 
being protected by a 2X6 plank firmly spiked on, which was 
very satisfactory, as all the timber was of oak. The working 
chamber was divided into three equal “pockets” by three tie- 
beams dovetailed into the sides of the caisson. The roof was 


124 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS, 


pierced by five holes ] 4-inch holes near each end for the blow¬ 
out” pipes and an 18- and a 20-inch hole in the center pocket 
for supply-pipe and air-shaft. Near the air-shaft w r as another 



Fig. 74.—Pneumatic Caisson, Chillicothe, Ohio. 


4-inch hole for the air-supply pipe. The air-shaft itself was 
formed of J-inch boiler-iron thoroughly riveted and calked and 
fastened together with inside flanges bolted together with f-inch 
bolts. Supply-pipe was formed of T y inch plates, and was similar 
in construction to the air-shaft, except that the flanges were on the 





























































































































































































































































































































































































































































CYLINDERS AND CAISSONS. 


1 2 5 


outside. The inside of the caisson from the “cutting edge” to 
the roof and all over the roof was calked carefully in each joint 



Fig. 75.—Calking Caisson No. 2, Chillicothe, Ohio. 


between the timbers and around the bolt-heads. Then the 
sheathing was put on and this was thoroughly calked (Fig. 75). 
The caissons were built on level ways on the river bank (Fig. 76), 
and when ready for launching these ways were inclined by raising 
















126 


ORDINAR Y FOUND A HONS 


the inner end, and the launching was accomplished by starting 
the caissons with tackle until they slid off into the water. 



On top of the caissons cribs were built of 12X12 timbers 
with cross-ties in every other course and 30-inch drift-bolts 


Fig. 76.—Caisson No. i on Ways, Ciiillicothe, Ohio 








CYLINDERS AND CAISSONS. 


I 2 7 


every 4 or 5 feet. This was sheathed continuously from “cutting 
edge” to the top. After grouting the deck or roof of the caisson 
several feet of concrete was put in until the pier became heavy 
enough to land on the bottom. The concrete was composed 
of 1 part of Portland cement, 2J parts of clean sand, and 5 parts 
of gravel, and the contractor was allowed to place large, clean 
bowlders in each layer. 

The plant for sinking the piers consisted of a double com¬ 
pressor 14X16X18, run by a 120-horse-power locomotive boiler. 
The air-receiver was 56 inches in diameter and 15 feet long, 
while the lighting plant consisted of a 115-volt dynamo of 9 am¬ 
peres capacity run by a vertical engine. In addition to this 
there were all the necessary pumps, hoisting-engines, derricks, 
and the like for carrying on the work. A 3-inch pipe was run 
from the receiver, along the river bed, to each pier and connected 
to the supply-pipe by a flexible joint. The working chamber 
was lighted with three 16-c.p. electric lights, and one was placed 
in each section of the air-shaft. Work was begun as soon as the 
air was turned on, by working two shifts of ten hours each. The 
“sand-hogs,” or crews of men employed on the work, consisted 
of one foreman, two blowpipe feeders, four shovelers, an inside 
lock tender and an outside lock tender. The material was 
removed by means of ordinary sand-pumps and was discharged 
through “goosenecks” of cast iron outside the pier, these “goose¬ 
necks” being heavy enough to stand the wear for a considerable 
length of time. All rock too large to send out through the pipes 
was taken out through the air-shaft in sacks. In sinking the 
caisson all material was cleaned out level with the “cutting edge,” 
then it was “ditched” by shoveling several inches of material 
from under the “cutting edge” and giving a “blow” by opening 
one of the valves and letting out a greater part of the air. Re¬ 
lieved of the lift of the compressed air, and with the weight of 
the concrete on top, the caisson settled down from 6 to 10 inches 
until the “cutting edge” was again on solid gravel. While 
the air was escaping, the working chamber filled with water and 
would frequently be two-thirds full when done “blowing.” No 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


I 28 

particular trouble was had in sinking the piers except for caisson 
No. 1, where, at a depth of about 20 feet below the bed of the 
river, a layer of bowlders was encountered and several coping- 
stones from one of the old piers of the old bridge, which was 
being replaced. The bed-rock under this pier was reached 
at 43 feet below low water and consisted of black shale and lime- 



Fig. 77.—Setting Footing Courses No. 2. 


stone in alternating layers. After the caisson was landed the 
concreting of the air-chamber was begun. 

To concrete the air-chamber a 2-inch pipe connection was 
made from the air-pipe to a point just below the top flange of 
the supply-pipe. This pipe had a valve, No. 1, near the air- 
pipe, and another valve, No. 2, on a T between valve No. 1 and 
the supply-shaft. A top door opening down was then put on the 
supply-shaft and the fastening taken off the lower door. A 
batch of concrete was shoveled into the supply-pipe, the upper 
dcor pulled up, valve No. 2 closed and No. 1 opened. This 
put compressed air in the supply-shaft, and allowed the lower 






CYLINDERS AND CAISSONS. 


1 2 9 


door to equalize open and the concrete fell into the working 
chamber, where it was rammed under the bevel edges and over 
the bottom by the “sand-hogs.” The lower door was then shut, 
valve No. i closed, and No. 2 opened, allowing the compressed 
air in the supply-shaft to equalize out and the top door to open. 
The process was repeated until the chamber was filled with 
concrete and barely a narrow passageway for one man left between 
the lower doors of the supply-shaft and air-shaft. The lower 
doors were then shut, and the last man equalized out. A regular 
air pressure was then kept on for twelve or eighteen hours, until 
the concrete set. The air was then turned off, and the shafts 
filled with concrete as quickly as possible. As soon as the air 
pressure was taken off, the lower doors dropped and the space left 
in the working chamber also filled with concrete, which was run 
in from the shafts. This finished the foundation from bed-rock 
to above low water. The setting of the footing courses is shown 
in Fig. 77. 

The above account is taken practically verbatim from the 
report of A. W. Jones, the engineer on the work, to whom ac¬ 
knowledgment is made. 


CHAPTER IX. 


PUMPING AND DREDGING* 

The degree of success which has been attained in the build¬ 
ing of a coffer-dam will be evident when the pumping process is 
begun. After having been pumped out, if the leakage is so small 
as to require only a small amount of pumping to keep it free from 
water, it may reasonably be considered a success. 

The pumping should not exceed what can be done by a steam- 
siphon, a small pulsome er, or by running a centrifugal pump 
intermittently. Should leaks develop which cannot readily be 
contended with, then repairs must be made. 

The use of pumps for this class of work on ancient bridges is 
described by Cresy. The bascule, used by Perronet at the 
bridge of Orleans (Fig. 78), is one of the most primitive forms. 
It consists of a seesaw apparatus, at each end of which ten men 
were placed, and 150 motions were given it in each quarter of an 
hour. Four cubic feet of water were raised 3 feet each time, or 
about 300 gallons per minu e Various other kinds of pumps 
were used at this bridge, among them the chapelet, which is 
similar to a modern chain-pump, worked by hand. Then the 
same device was employed, but geared to be operated by horses 
on a platform. A chapelet operated by a water-wheel was also 

* Attention is called to the numerous references in other chapters of the pump¬ 
ing plants actually employed on coffer-dams, and especially to the plant used at 
Topeka, page 92. 

Great care should always be given to the selection of a pumping plant of the 
proper type and proper size, as the statements regarding capacity are often mis¬ 
leading. The outfit should be, if needed, one able to take care of the dredging, 
if the material is such that it can be pumped. 


130 





PUMPING AND DREDGING. 


I 3 I 


used. (Figs. 79 and 80.) The large wheel had 124 cogs, while 
the pinion had 15, which caused the raising of over sixty-six 
buckets on the chain for each turn of the large wheel. At 180 




turns of the wheel per hour, with each bucket lifting 290 cubic 
inches of water, the capacity was about 250 gallons per minute. 

A great bucket-wheel was employed by the same engineer at 



the Neuilly Bridge, 16 feet 6 inches in diameter, 4 feet 6 inches 
wide, with sixteen buckets. 

The pumps used at the present time on very small work are 
usually square wooden-box lift-pumps, such as are used on large 












































































































































































































ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


13 2 

river barges, and are worked by one or more men lifting on a 
plunger. These are often replaced by a similar pump of metal 
(Figs. 81 and 82) with a tube of galvanized metal, and often 



spiral-riveted. The one shown in Fig. 81 has the top and bottom 
soldered to the tube, while the one in Fig. 82 has screw joints. 
The cost of a 4-inch pump 8 feet long with fixed top and bottom 



Fig. 81. —Hand-pump, Fig. 82. —Hand-pump, 

Soldered Joints. Screw Joints. 

would be about $6, while the screw joints would about double 
the cost. 

Such pumps are, however, little used, as the labor becomes 

























































































PUMPING AND DREDGING . 


r 33 


excessive where there is any quantity of water to deal with, and 
diaphragm-pumps (Fig. 83) are employed, which work on a 
rubber diaphragm in place of a piston and plunger, and throw 
a large amount of water, besides allowing the passage of sand 
and gravel without choking the pump. The 2^-inch suction has 
a capacity of 25 gallons per minute, and the 3-inch suction of 
58 gallons per minute, the list price of the two sizes being $20 and 
$26, respectively; the maximum lift of the pump being 30 feet. 



Fig. 83. —Diaphragm-pump. 


Where steam can be obtained steam-s phons are often used, 
the steam being introduced into the main pipe through a nozzle, 
thus causing a suction, which with a 3-inch discharge \ an Duzen 
jet will deliver 7,200 gallons of water per hour, the height of the 
pump above water being 11 feet the point of discharge being 19 
feet above the pump, making a total lift of 30 feet. This size 
will require an 18-horse-power boiler and a steam pressure of 50 
pounds. The suction-pipe is 1 inch larger than the discharge, 
while the steam-pipe is ij inches in diameter,, with a jet opening 

of about inch. 












134 


ORDINAR Y ROUND A TIONS. 


The list price of a pump of this size (Fig. 84) is $36, the piping 
being extra. The pump is constructed of gun-metal and will last 
indefinitely. The strainer should always be used and will cost 
about $4 extra for the 4-inch pipe. The piping should have 
long bends in place of elbows where a turn is required. 

This make of pump is manufactured from J-inch discharge, 



Fig. 84.—Van Duzen 
J ET-PUMP. 


Fig. 85.—Lansdell’s Siphon-pump. 


villi a capacity of 200 gallons per hour, up to 5-inch discharge 
v ith a capacity of 12,000 gallons per hour. The smaller sizes 
are nseful for priming centrifugal pumps and for a variety of uses 
around a contractor’s plant. 

The Lansdell siphon-pump (Fig. 85) has a double suction 
CC, to which rubber suction-pipes are attached. The steam- 
pipe is attached to B , and when the steam is turned on it is blown 
across A and through D, thus exhausting the air from the cham- 



























































































PUMPING AND DREDGING. 


*35 


ber A. Water rises through CC by atmospheric pressure to 
fill the vacuum, and it is forced out through D by the steam, the 
velocity being proportional to the steam pressure. The steam 
supply should be as close to the pump as possible, to prevent con¬ 
densation, and the turns in the pipe should be easy bends, as 
stated regarding the Van Duzen jet. When the height exceeds 
14 feet to which the water is to be pumped, the suction-pipes 
must be long enough to allow the center of the pump to be placed 
14 feet above the water. With a 3-inch discharge, a ij-inch 
steam-pipe is required and a 12-horse-power boiler. With a 6- 
inch discharge a 2j-inch steam-pipe is required and a 50-horse¬ 
power boiler. 

The rated capacity of the 3-inch is 450 gallons per minute, of 
the 6-inch 1,800 gallons. But this would likely not be realized 
in practice. 

The vacuum-pump which has reached the most general adop¬ 
tion is the pulsometer, and is in many ways better adapted to 
light service than a centrifugal pump of small size. There are 
no bearings to keep up, no belts to keep tight, and no trouble in 
preparing a foundation, as the pump is suspended by the hook 
shown in Fig. 86. The pump is operated by admitting the steam 
through the pipe at the extreme top (Fig. 87), the pump having 
been previously primed by filling the middle chamber with water. 
The air-valves are closed and the steam passes into the right-hand 
chamber A, clearing it of water by forcing it into the discharge- 
chamber shown in dotted lines. The steam then condenses at once 
and the ball C changes its seat, closing the right-hand and opening 
the left-hand chamber to the steam. The vacuum, formed by 
the steam condensing in the right-hand chamber A, allows it to 
fill with water by atmospheric pressure through the suction pipe 
at the extreme bottom and through the chamber D, it being 
retained by the valves E, E. The steam then enters the left-hand 
chamber A and the operation is repeated. The chamber / is a 
vacuum- chamber. 

In starting the pump the steam is turned on for three or four 
seconds, then shut off for four or five seconds, alternating these 


136 ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS . 


movements until the pump is started. The steam is then turned 
on about half or three-quarters of a revolution, the two side air- 
valves opened about half a turn, and then the middle air-valve 
opened slowly until a regular stroke is obtained. 



Fig. 86.—Pulsometer Steam-pump. 


The capacity of the 3-inch discharge, with a ^-inch steam- 
pipe and operated by a 9-horse-power boiler, is 180 gallons per 
minute when the lift is as much as 25 feet; and for the 6-inch 
discharge, with a i-J-inch steam-pipe and operated by a 35-horse¬ 
power boiler, 1,000 gallons for the same lift. 













































































PUMPING AND DREDGING. 


137 


The pulsometer is remarkably smooth in operation, and 
except foi the slight click of the ball and the discharge of water 
in a steady stream, one would scarcely know it was pumping. 
Where a good-sized hoisting-engine boiler is in use on founda¬ 
tion work, it can be used to supply the steam for pumping. The 



Fig. 87. —Section of Pulsometer. 


work illustrated in Fig. 4 was easily kept free of water by a small 
pulsometer, while its use has been cited in a number of cases 
where the coffer-dam was pumped out by a centrifugal pump, 
and then the leakage kept under control by a medium-sized pul¬ 
someter, which required but little attention. The pump should 
be provided with a strainer at the bottom of the suction-pipe, all 
the connections must be air-tight, no sharp bends should be made 





















! 3 8 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


in the pipe, and with dry steam successful working will result. 
Another pump of similar construction is the Maslin automatic 
vacuum-pump, which differs from it in important details. What 
has been said regarding the pulsometer will apply as well to the 
Maslin pump. 

All the foregoing devices are for use where the amount of 
water to be handled in a given time is of limited amount, but 
where large quantities are to be pumped out of coffer-dams in 
short periods of time, resource must be had to centrifugal pumps, 
which have reached a high state of perfection. Where the water 
is to be lifted io feet an ordinary reciprocating pump would 
exhibit an efficiency of only 30 per cent., while a centrifugal 
pump would have an efficiency of 64 per cent. For a lift of 17 
feet the reciprocating type would have an efficiency of 50 per 
cent., while the centrifugal would reach its maximum of 69 per 
cent, efficiency, dropping to only 50 per cent, for a lift of 50 feet, 
while the other types would increase to 75 per cent. From this 
it will be seen that the centrifugal pump is essentially a low-lift 
machine. 

Actual tests of pumps show that the maximum results are very 
seldom realized, a 9-inch discharge of one make showing an increase 
from 46.52 per cent, for a 12.25-feet lift to 57.57 per cc t. for a 
13.08-feet lift, while another make of 10-inch discharge shows a 
decrease from 64.5 per cent, for a 12.33-feet lift to 55.72 per 
cent, for a 13-feet lift. The greatest efficiency at hand is shown 
by a German pump with a 9^-inch discharge, a 10.3-inch suction 
and a 20.5-inch disk, running at 500 revolutions. The lift was 
16.46 feet and the efficiency 73.1 per cent.! 

That such results are not realized on actual work is readily 
understood when it is considered what little care is used to prop¬ 
erly place and operate such a plant, how little attention is paid to 
having a proper boiler and engine, and what lack of care there 
often is to keep the plant in good repair. 

An ideal outfit for operating by steam is shown in Fig. 88, 
where the engine is directly connected to a Heald & Sisco pump, 
all the trouble and vexation from the use of a belt being done 



PUMPING AND DREDGING. 139 

away with, and no loss of power through slipping of belts. The 
machine can be placed on the barge which carries the boiler, the 
suction-pipe being run horizontally across as in Fig. 88, while a 
short discharge-pipe discharges directly into the river. Where 
electric power plants are available a still better arrangement will 


Fig. 88.—Centrifugal Pump, Directly Connected to Engine. 

be to have an electric motor directly connected to the pump, and 
all the trouble incident to the use of a boiler on the work will be 
avoided. 

Electric power can also be used for hoisting and for pile¬ 
driving. Examples of the use of motors on hoisting machinery 
will be given in a later article. 

The suction should always be fitted with a section of smooth¬ 
bore rubber hose (Fig. 89, a) to give it flexibility, a length of about 
















































































140 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS . 


8 feet being usually sufficient. The best hose is made with a 
spiral metal core, which adds to its strength and durability. 

The suction-pipe is ordinarily made of sections of wrought- 
iron pipe, with screw connections, but as this is troublesome to 
change sections, it will be found advantageous to use the spiral- 
riveted pipe with flange couplings (Fig. 89, b), and to have extra 
sections from 2 to 6 feet long, with several sections of each shorter 
length, so that the length of the suction-pipe can be readily changed 




to suit the depth of the excavation. The flanges must be pro¬ 
vided with rubber gaskets to keep the pipe air-tight. 

The strainer (Fig. 89, c) is used to prevent large stones, sticks, 
or obstructions from entering and clogging ordinary pumps, and 
usually comprises a foot-valve to retain a pipe full of water and 
make the priming easy. The strainer or end of the suction-pipe 
is usually placed in the lowest point, and sometimes a box or 
sump is provided, as a well into which the water is drained from 
the other and higher portions of the work. A small set of falls 
should be attached to the foot to raise the pipe and clean out the 
strainer when necessary. 

The centrifugal pump itself must be in first-class repair to do 
economical work, and should be a large enough size so that it 
need not be run beyond its economical capacity. The style of 









































































PUMPLu.u and dredging. 


141 

pump to use will depend upon the work to be done, but for coffer¬ 
dam work a vertical pump could not be used easily and need not 
be considered. Where practically clean water is to be pumped 
an ordinary style of pump should be used, but where much mud 
or sand will be drawn up a sand-pump is best; and where a large 
part of the excavation is to be done with the pump, as at Topeka, 
a dredging-pump will be the proper type. 

The pumping required on the Chattanooga work, 5,000 gal¬ 
lons per minute to a height of about 15 feet, would have been 
done most economically by a 15-inch pump, with a 40-horse-power 
engine and a 50-horse-power boiler. But a pump of this size 
would not find ready use in a contractor’s work, and for this 
reason two 8-inch pumps would have been the better outfit to pur¬ 
chase, unless the work was very extensive; and each pump should 
be provided with a 25- or 30-horse-power engine, so as to run the 
pumps somewhat beyond the economical capacity, which could 
readily be done with a direct-connected engine, where there would 
be no belt to slip. 

The work required on the Forth Bridge coffer-dams could also 
be done by the 15-inch pump above described, the lift being about 
3 feet at the start and reaching 18 feet as the dam was cleared, the 
340,000 gallons being pumped out in about one hour. 

Centrifugal pumps are rarely required for a lift of over 20 feet 
on this class of work, which is only slightly beyond the economical 
lift, and the height should never exceed 30 feet, which would 
require for the 15-inch pump an engine of 75 horse-power. 

The pump may be located on the coffer-dam, but in case of 
high water during the progress of the work the outfit may be 
damaged and it is best to place the pump on a boat, as in Fig. 56, 
with a section of horizontal suction-pipe across to the work, which 
should be as short as possible. 

The ordinary type of pump (Fig. 88) may be fitted with a 
primer, consisting of a small, hand force-pump attached to one side 
of the pump, for filling the pump and suction-pipe. A more simple 
way is to provide a barrel above the pump, which can be kept full 
by using a small steam-jet, and, by means of a pipe with valve 



142 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


from the bottom of the barrel to the top of pump, the contents can 
be emptied into the pump to prime it. Priming may also be easily 



Fig. 90.—Centrifugal Pump, Double Suction. 


accomplished by inserting a hose into the discharge-pipe and 
filling the pump directly with a steam-jet. 

Double suction-pumps (Fig. 90) allow the water to enter on 



Fig. 91.—Dredging-pump. 

each side of the piston and thus a perfect balance is secured, which 
does away with all end-thrust on the bearings. This pump is most 





























































PUMPING AND DREDGING. 


143 


easily primed by using an ejector, or a flap-valve such as is shown 
on the discharge-pipe of the dredging-pump (Fig. 91) and which 
serves to retain the water in the pump. Where a long discharge- 
pipe is to be used, a quick-closing gate-valve may be introduced 
into the pipe near the pump. 

Where the material to be dredged out at the foundation site is 
mud or sand or partly gravel, it can be removed during the process 
of pumping by using a dredging-pump. In case there were 700 
yards of material to be removed and an 8-inch pump was provided 
it would not be advisable to count on more than 10 per cent, of solid 
matter being discharged by the pump, as the suction could not be 
kept working close up to the sand or mud. By using a 30-horse¬ 
power engine, a discharge of 2,000 
gallons per minute would be 
reached, or with 10 per cent, of 
loose solid matter the excavation 
would be made in less than two 
working days. 

The piston of a dredging-pump 
(Fig. 92) is provided with large 
openings to receive the material, 
and the one illustrated is provided 
with side plates so that all wear is 
taken off the pump-casing. 

One of the most remarkable 
pieces of work done with this 
class of pumps was the use of 
Edwards’ cataract pumps in dredg¬ 
ing the ship channel in New 
York harbor. This is described in 
the Trans. Am. Soc. C. E., Vol. 

25. The work was done by three 

dredges, which were much the same as small sea-going vessels, 
the largest being the Reliance, 157 feet long, and carrying 650 
cubic yards of dredged material. Two separate pumps were pro¬ 
vided, each with 18-inch suction-pipes reaching from the sides of 



LONAlir GO.BQS IQH 

Fig. 92.—Dredging-pump 
Piston. 



















































































144 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS . 


the vessel and parallel to it down to the bottom to be dredged, 
being supported by suitable hoisting-tackle. These boats were kept 
under headway toward the dumping-ground while the dredging 
was in process. The average load during about a month’s work¬ 
ing of the Reliance was 585 cubic yards and the average time of 
loading about 48 minutes, while the average number of loads per 
day was 6.73. 

These dredges removed the enormous quantity of 4,299,858 



Fig. 93.—Lancaster Grapple. 


cubic yards of material at an average price of 24.48 cents per yard, 
the lowest price being about 17 cents, the average price paid for 
other forms of dredging being 40.53 cents. On foundation work 
the amounts to be removed would be small and the cost for this 
reason much higher, yet owing to the smaller cost of the plant that 
would be required the cost need not be greatly in excess of the 
above. It is usual, however, as the amount to be dredged will 
cost such a small proportion of the total cost of the substructure, 
to figure from $1 to $2 per yard for excavation in ordinary coffer¬ 
dams. 

Reference has already been made to hand dredging, and a 










































PUMPING AND DREDGING. 


145 


very cheap and effective scraper was illustrated in Fig. 8. Where 
dredging is to be done in tubes, wells, or puddle-chambers, it can 
be done by a clam-shell dredge or grapple such as was shown in 
Fig. 57, in use on the Hawkesbury foundations. 

The Lancaster dredge (Fig. 93) is a well-known form of this 
type of machine, and can be operated from an ordinary derrick 



Fig. 94. —Sand-digger. 

which is served by a double-drum hoisting-engine. This dredge 
will work best of course, where there is some depth of soft material 
to be removed. While a large dredge would generally be hired 
by a contractor, these buckets can be owned by him and the work 

carried on cheaply and conveniently. 

Sand-diggers such as were mentioned in Chapter II can often 
be hired where other means are not at hand, or they can be rigged 
up very cheaply if necessary. A very simple one (Fig. 94) can 
be built on an ordinary barge, the engine being an ordinary one 
with a vertical boiler, while the buckets are mounted in a very 









ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


i 46 

simple manner and operated through a well in the center of the 
boat. Such a dredge will dig about 100 yards of sand per day, 
with only two men to attend it, and will use less than one-half 
ton of cheap coal, the total cost per yard thus running below five 
cents. Large elevator dredges of this type are very elaborate 
affairs, and as they are in wide use they can often be hired for 
making excavations. 

The best-known form of dredge, perhaps, is the dipper dredge. 
The Osgood machines (Figs. 95 and 96) in use on the New York 
State canals are among the best machines of this kind in use. 
Such dredges are more simple in construction than elevator ma¬ 
chines, and are consequently easier and cheaper to keep in repair. 
The hull is jo'Xij'Xb' with two 6-foot pontoons, which are re¬ 
moved when going through locks. The engines consist of a double¬ 
drum main engine with S^Xio" cylinders, a swinging-engine 
with 6 "X&" cylinders, and a crowding-engine, 5 /r X6" cylinders, 
which are all used in operating the digger of i\ yards capacity on 
a steel boom 45 feet in length. 

The crowding-engine is used to control the dipper and enables 
it to make a practically level bottom at one cut, and also thrusts 
the dipper far enough beyond the boom to allow it to dump 52 
feet from the center. This dredge, which cost complete $10,000, 
is operated by a crew of only four men and consumes but one 
ton of coal per day of twelve hours, the average excavation dur¬ 
ing four months’ work being 549 cubic yards per day. The 
machine has sufficient power to dig hard-pan, bowlders, and very 
soft shale rock. 

A dredge of this make, of 3J yards capacity, working in mud 
and sand, has dug material at the very low actual cost of .99 of 
one cent! This, of course, was an exceptional case, and the cost 
will rarely fall below five cents per yard on easy work at a depth 
not exceeding 10 feet, and in such small amounts as would have 
to be dredged on coffer-dam work and in about 20 feet of water 
the actual cost would likely reach fifteen cents per yard. In case 
the dredge should be hired to do the work, a charge of from twenty 
to thirty cents per yard would not be excessive, depending, of 
course on the class of material and the amount. 



Fig. 95. —Osgood Dipper Dredge, New Yorr State Canals. 




















148 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS . 



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CHAPTER X. 


THE FOUNDATION. 

The coffer-dam is only the means of reaching a desired end, 
and this must be borne in mind and the construction made as 
simply as possible to obtain a first-class foundation. 

When the coffer-dam is completed and pumped out, work can 
then proceed if the pumps are able to control the water easily. 
The character of the foundation having been previously decided 
upon, after a careful examination of the site, it is assumed that 
the temporary work has been executed in a manner which is 
properly related to the permanent structure. 

The different kinds of bottom likely to be encountered are: 
First, light sand and gravel or mud of unknown depth; second, 
similar material overlying either cemented gravel, clay, hard-pan, 
or rock; third, a clean rock bottom, which is approximately 
smooth and level; fourth, a sloping rock bottom, which is either 
smooth or rough, and fifth, a rough and irregular rock bottom. 

Should the bottom be of the first kind—light sand and gravel 
or mud of unknown depth—the soft upper layer may have been 
removed by a dredge previous to the building of the dam, or it 
may be removed by a dredge or grapple from within the inclosed 
area, and without the necessity of keeping the dam pumped out, 
or pumping may be kept up with a dredging-pump and the light 
material removed in this way, after which the heavier material 
may be removed as deep as necessary by hand-shoveling and a 
dirt-box, as shown in Fig. 56. In such a bottom the foundation 
is usually made by driving piles from 2 to 4 feet centers, this dis¬ 
tance being regulated by the bearing power, as determined from 

140 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


i5° 

Wellington’s formula in Chapter IV, and building upon the tops 
of the piles, after they have been cut off to a level below low water, 
a grillage of timber. The space between the piles should be filled 
with broken stone or concrete, and the grillage placed entirely 
below low water, the coffer-dam being kept pumped out to allow 
this work to be done, and also during the laying of the footing 
courses of the masonry which are below the water. 

When the soft bottom overlays good clay, hard-pan, or rock, as 
in the second case, and the depth exceeds 20 or 25 feet below the 
water-surface, piles may be driven to the harder substratum and 
act as bearing-piles. But when the depth is in the region of 
20 feet or less, it is best to excavate and place the foundation 
masonry directly upon the solid bottom. The foundation will be 
of the character described for some of the following cases: 

The third class is similar to the foundation at Chattanooga 
after the gravel was removed. The fissures in the rock are filled 
up or closed with cement and concrete, and a leveling course of 
concrete put down on which to found the pier (Fig. 49). 

Bottoms of the fourth class should have all the loose and 
decomposed rock removed and steps cut out by blasting and 
wedging, to give a secure hold for the foundation, but if it is 
simply rough and irregular a leveling course of concrete will be 
all that is required on which to start the pier. Bottoms of clay 
and hard-pan will require a very similar treatment, except that the 
leveling course of concrete must be made of sufficient thickness to 
properly distribute the pressure, which will seldom be less than 
3 feet and can often be increased with advantage to 6 or 8 feet. 
An example of the stepping of rock bottom was given in the 
account of the Forth Bridge piers in Chapter VII and was shown 
by the dotted lines in Fig. 64. 

Where there is a current caused by leakage through the sides 
of a coffer-dam, or from the bottom, or if the water within the 
dam is agitated by the pumping, it will be best, after the bottom 
is clean and properly prepared, to allow the water to run in and 
then deposit the concrete through the still water. This has been 
successfully accomplished through 25 or 30 feet of water, and 


THE FOUNDATION. 


151 

while some engineers recommend allowing the concrete to set 
from one to three hours before depositing, to prevent the cement 
from washing out of the concrete, this is not necessary nor advi¬ 
sable if the proper care is exercised and the proper apparatus used. 
The concrete should be made from one-third to one-half richer 
than would be used for similar open-air work, as there will be 
some loss of strength. 

The simplest method is to deposit the concrete in paper sacks 
by sliding them down a smooth wooden or iron chute, or by load¬ 
ing them into a box or skip and dumping them out after the box 
reaches the bottom. The sacks should be of tough paper, similar 
to flour sacks, and when they reach the bottom they may be broken 
by a pike-pole and the concrete allowed to run together. Thin 
cloth sacks are sometimes used and they become fairly well 
cemented together by the mortar which oozes through. 

Where the amount of concrete is considerable it will be best 
to use a tube or bottom dumping-box. For placing concrete under 
water on the Boucicault Bridge over the river Saone in France a 
wooden tube 16 inches square was used. This is described in the 
Engineering News of May 18, 1893. The tube was carried trans¬ 
versely across the caisson on a traveling-crane which ran length¬ 
wise of the caisson on tracks on the sides, thus allowing the tube 
to be moved in any desired direction. The tube was built in sec¬ 
tions which could be easily removed, was provided with a hopper 
at the top into which the concrete was dumped, and a drop-door 
at the bottom to let out the concrete. The tube was filled as it was 
lowered down into the water, and opened when within 16 inches 
of the bottom. As concrete was dumped in above, the tube was 
moved about and a 16-inch layer of concrete deposited. When one 
layer was complete, another of the same thickness was deposited. 
This method of using 16-inch layers was said to have obviated 
laitance or the exuding of the gelatinous fluid which prevents uni¬ 
form setting. The concrete was deposited about the heads of the 
piles and no grillage used. The thickness of the concrete, which 
was deposited at the rate of from 90 to 100 yards per day, was 9.84 
feet, and was allowed to set fourteen days before the pier was begun. 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


J 5 2 


A metal tube may be used, such as was employed on the 

Harvard Bridge at Boston by W. H. Ward. 
This tube (Fig. 97) was not provided with 
a bottom and the first filling of the tube 
was consequently done after the tube was 
lowered and the concrete became somewhat 
washed. This may easily be prevented 
by using concrete in paper sacks to fill 
the tube the first time. The tube was sus¬ 
pended from a derrick and was moved about 
so as to keep the concrete level and deposit 
it in layers. This account is taken from 
Vol. 31 of the Engineering News, from which 
is taken the following description of a metal 
bucket used by W. D. Taylor on the Coosa 
River: 

This bucket (Fig. 98) was of riveted 
construction and held one yard of concrete. 
The maximum depth of water was 26 feet, 
at which depth the bucket and its load 
became so lightened that the bucket tripped 
as soon as the flanges touched the bottom. 
Similar boxes are often constructed of wood, 
or they are often made “V ’’-shaped, one 
side being arranged to open and dump 
the load. 

For concrete work of this character 
natural cement is often used, but on all 
important work Portland cement should 
be employed. The proportions range 
___ from one of cement, two of sand, and 

four of broken stone, to one of cement, 
three of sand, and six of broken 




Fig. 97.—Metal Tube 

for Concreting. stone. 

On such a base either a masonry or monolithic concrete pier 
may be constructed. The pier at Little Rock (Fig. 52) was of 






















































THE FOUNDATION. 


1 53 


this construction and of the composition given in Chapter VI. A 
similar piece of work was constructed on the Red River Bridge 
on the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway and is described in 




Fig. 98.—Metal Bucket for Concreting. 

the Engineering News of June 2, 1888, by C. D. Purdon, assistant 
engineer in charge of the work under James Dun, chief engineer. 
The cribs were filled with Louisville cement concrete up to within 
2 feet of low water, on which was built the pier. (Figs. 99 and 100.) 


































































































































*54 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


“After the crib had been filled with concrete and the surface 
leveled off, the center lines of the pier were located and a frame 
of 2 / 'X8 // plank, the shape of the pier, and 4 inches larger to 
allow for lagging, was placed in exact position and held by pieces 



PLAN 

Fig. 99.—Concrete Piers, Red River Bridge. 


spiked to the crib. On this frame upright posts 6"X6" and 5 feet 
10 inches high, with a batter of J inch per 3 feet, were set in the 
position shown on the drawing, then the feet spiked to the frame 
and another frame similar to the first, but 6 inches narrower, placed 
on them. This again was brought to exact position and braced 
to the crib and the frame completed by putting lagging of 2-inch 

























































































































































































THE FOUNDATION. 


T 55 


plank inside the posts and spiking to them. This lagging was 
horizontal in the body of the pier and vertical (2 // X4 // ) at the 
ends, beveled pieces being introduced in the ends at intervals 
to make up the difference of the upper and lower circles. Next 
2"X6" planks were placed across on the tops of the posts, running 



Fig. ioo.—Concrete Forms, Red River Bridge. 


clear through the pier, to act as braces. In the rest of the frames 
these braces were allowed to extend about 6 feet on each side 
and the frame braced by spiking plank to them and to the vertical 
posts. After a section of frames was completed a bed of cement 
mortar about 2 inches thick was spread all over the concrete 
in the crib. On this rough stone, in such pieces as one man 
could easily handle, was placed so that no two pieces would be 























































































































J 5 6 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


closer than 2 inches, nor any piece within 2 inches of the frame, 
the stone being thoroughly wet before laying. 

“Next, on this course of stone another bed of mortar was 
placed, sufficient to fill all the spaces between the stones and 
remain about 2 inches thick above them. It was then well 
rammed with rammers made by inserting a handle in a section 
of a pile, except at the edges, where a rammer made of a 2-inch 
plank cut in the shape of a spade was used, to insure a perfect 
skin of cement without any breaks. After this had been well 
rammed, another layer of stone was placed and covered with 
mortar as before, and so on. 

“The coping, which was made similar to the body of the pier, 
was finished by about ij inches of cement mixed with sand one 
to one, fluid enough to be struck off by a straight-edge, the top 
of the frame being dressed and leveled for that purpose. 

“After the pier had been completed the frames were re¬ 
moved and the braces running through the piers cut off by a 
chisel inside the concrete. Then, to make a smooth surface, 
the pier was thoroughly wet and plastered with a mixture of 
one part sand to one part cement, after all the rough or loose 
portions had been scraped off. This was mainly done for appear¬ 
ance.” 

The mortar for the body of the pier was made of one part 
Alsen’s German Portland cement and four parts of sand. There 
was used about ij barrels of cement to a cubic yard of com¬ 
pleted pier. In mixing the mortar eleven ordinary pails full 
of water were used to one barrel of cement, which caused the 
water to just appear on the surface when the tamping was done. 

The lock walls on the Illinois and Mississippi canal have 
been constructed of monolithic concrete under Captain W. L. 
Marshall, Corps of Engineers. The work was executed under 
L. L. Wheeler, engineer in charge, from whose account, in the 
report of the Chief of Engineers for 1894, the following is taken: 

“The rules adopted for the work were adhered to and are 
worthy of careful study. 

“I. The forms or molds of the walls will be divided by ver- 


THE FOUNDATION. 


!57 


tical partitions perpendicular to the longest axis of the mass, 
and the walls be constructed by filling alternate sections. 

“II. The sections will be filled in horizontal layers, well 
rammed, each layer to be deposited before the ‘initial set’ of 
the previously deposited layer. When the work of filling a 
section is begun it must proceed without intermission to com¬ 
pletion, working night and day if necessary. 

“III. The facing and backing must go on simultaneously 
in the same horizontal layers, using the same cement in the facing 
as in the backing, with no defined lines of demarkation between 
the facing which contains no stone and the concrete backing. 

“IV. When the top surface of the coping is reached it will 
be finished after ramming by cutting off the excess by a straight¬ 
edge, and rubbed smooth and hard by a float. No plastering 
or wet finishing will be allowed. 

“V. The facing of the walls will not be finished by plaster¬ 
ing or washing with cement after the forms are removed, nor 
dressed in any manner beyond chiseling away rough ridges, 
should the plank forming not be smooth. 

“VI. The concrete shall be mixed with all the water it will 
take, without water showing after ramming, or without ‘quaking’ 
upon ramming 

“VII. At such intervals as may be necessary vertical wells, 
at least i foot square, will be formed along the middle of the 
masses of concrete, reaching to near the bottom thereof. The 
masses of concrete after forming will be kept sheltered from the 
sun, the outer surfaces kept moist and the wells kept filled with 
water until well set, or about three weeks. The walls will then 
be filled with concrete. 

“VIII. In preparing the cement for mixing with other in¬ 
gredients of concrete, from five to ten barrels will be kept thor¬ 
oughly mixed dry, to guard against chance barrels of defective 
cement, and the necessary quantity of cement will be taken for 
each batch from this mixture. 

“IX. Two cements of different qualities shall not be used 
in the same section, but as far as practicable each mass shall 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


158 

be homogeneous throughout, but a slight excess of cement in 
the facing to reduce its capacity to absorb water.” 

The rate at which the concrete was deposited in the work was 
determined by the rate of ramming, and but one yard every 
five minutes was deposited. The forms (Fig. 101) were lined 
with dressed pine plank 4" XS" on the face, of uniform thick¬ 
ness, and with 2-inch rough plank on the back. 

Rough plank is sometimes used on such work and lined with 
oiled paper, or ordinary dressed plank may be used and coated 
with soft soap. In most sections of the country crushed broken 



Fig. ioi.—Concrete Forms, Illinois and Michigan Canal. 

stone can be obtained, but owing to the magnitude of this work a 
crusher was built (Fig. 102) and was found to work very satisfac¬ 
torily. The concrete mixer shown in Fig. 102 was operated by a 
15-horse-power portable engine. The proportions finally adopted 
for the concrete were one of cement, three and one-third of 
gravel, and four of broken stone, while the facing and coping were 
composed of one part cement and two parts of clean river sand. 

That the sand for concrete be clean and sharp is very essen¬ 
tial, and any loam or dirt must be washed out. Equally essen¬ 
tial is good, clean, sharp, broken stone without dust or dirt. 
The cement used on the above work was a German Portland, 
but several of the American Portlands are first-class and will 
give as good results as the imported. 

Where good, fresh cement is being supplied, a few tests to a 
car-load will be sufficient, and for cements of the grade of Atlas or 
Empire the guarantee of the manufacturer, supplemented by a few 
tests, should be sufficient. But for cements which have been 






















































THE FOUNDATION. 


l S9 


shipped by water, tests should be made from every five or ten 
barrels. 

The Atlas Cement Company recommend, for concrete laid 
in open air on moist ground where great weight must be carried, 
one of cement, two of clean sharp sand, and four of 2-inch broken 




Fig. 102.—Stone Crusher and Concrete Mixer, Illinois and Michigan 

Canal. 


stone; this sand ana cement to be thoroughly mixed dry, then 
just enough water added to thoroughly moisten, and the mass 
turned over at least twice, when the stone is to be added in a 
thoroughly wet condition. This must then be put at once into 
the molds and well rammed. 

Where a solid bottom is to be built upon, the proportions of 
one of cement, three of sand, and six of broken stone are recom¬ 
mended. For ordinary construction one of cement, four of 
sand, and eight of broken stone, while to obtain a concrete as 


























































































































































































i6o 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


strong as ordinary natural cement concrete, one of cement, five 
of sand, and ten of broken stone can be used. 

The average cost of such concretes, including labor, tools, 
timber forms, and a fair profit to the contractor, would be for 
the first $8 per yard, for the second $7, for the third $6, and 
for the fourth $5. 



Fig. 103. —Double-drum Guy Derrick, American Hoist and Derrick Co. 

Where the leveling course of concrete has been put in and 
the pier is to be of stone, the footing course should be of care¬ 
fully selected material. They should be large stones with good 
beds, and should be as thick or preferably thicker than the 
courses above. Where the bearing pressure does not exceed 
two tons per square foot, the footing courses may be stepped 
by allowing each course to project about one and one-third 



































THE FOUNDATION. 


161 


times its thickness, depending of course on the equality of the 
stone. 

The usual way of handling the material for foundations and 



Fig. 104.—Single-drum Horse-power, Contractors’ Plant Mfg. Co. 


piers is to boat it to the site, where it is placed by a stiff-leg 
derrick, or, if guys can be used, by a derrick with wire-rope guys. 
The fittings for such derricks can be obtained from a number 



of firms, an American Hoist and Derrick Company outfit being 
shown in Fig. 103. This is rigged to be operated by a double¬ 
drum hoist, which can be one operated by horse-power (Fig. 104) 
if the piers are near the bank and if steam-power is not available. 
The usual form, however, is a double-drum steam-hoist like the 
Lido-erwood machine shown in Fig. 105. Where electric power 






































































162 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


is available an electric hoist (Fig. 106) should be used, as it 
will be found much more convenient. 

Works of any magnitude should, however, be fitted from the 
beginning with a cableway, which will avoid the necessity of 
boating the materials, erecting of large derricks, and facilitate 
in every way the prosecution of the work, besides often making 
a balance on the right side of the ledger. The Lidgerwood 
cableway on dam No. u of the Great Kanawha River, a tower 



of which can be seen in Fig. 9, had a span of 1,505.5 feet and 
carried a net load of four tons on a main cable 2\ inches in diam¬ 
eter. The stone quarry was located on one bank, and the stone 
was taken directly to the stone yard and to the work in the river. 
A seam of coal in the quarry also supplied fuel for the dredges 
and pumps, the coal being handled by the cableway, as was 
also the material from the railroad siding on the opposite bank. 

The details of these cableways have been developed and 
perfected to a wonderful extent, as a result of their use on the 
Chicago drainage channel. The engine for operating one of 
these with a capacity of eight tons has double 10" X12" cylinders, 













THE FOUNDATION. 


163 


the cranks being set at an angle of 90° and is provided with 
reversing link motion. The double drums regulate both the hoist 
at a speed of 300 feet per minute and the travel along the cable 
at 1,000 feet per minute. A 70-horse-power boiler is required. 



Fig. 107.—Lidgerwood Cableway Carriage and Skip. 


The carriage and skip, which are automatic in action, are 
shown in Fig. 107, the capacity of those on the drainage channel 
being 1.8 yards, and the average of a month being about 600 
yards per day of ten hours. The cost of operation, including 
labor, fuel, and everything except interest on plant and repairs, 
was less than $18 per day or from three to four cents per yard. 











164 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


The cableway on the Coosa dam and lock (Fig. 108) had 
a capacity of about eight tons and made a round trip on an 



average of about three minutes. Such a plant is out of reach 
of high water and of trains where used over railroad tracks as 
at the North avenue bridge in Baltimore. 


Fig. ic8. —Lilgerwood Cableway at Coosa Dam. Span 1,012 






























































































THE FOUNDATION. 


i6 5 

The Court street stone-arch bridge at Rochester, N. Y., of 
eight spans, was constructed with the aid of a cableway, which 
was also used to remove the old bridge and piers. A cableway 
of one span was used to construct the Melan concrete-arch bridge 
at Topeka, Kan. The bridge has five spans and a total length 
of 650 feet. During the extreme high water in the early part of 
1897, when everything was completely inundated, and an ordi¬ 
nary derrick plant would have been swept away, the cableway 
was high and dry out of reach of the flood. 

The prevailing low prices of contract work make it neces¬ 
sary to employ every improvement on important engineering 
work, and the cableway has doubtless come to stay as one of 
the most remarkable of our tools. 


CHAPTER XI. 


THE FOUNDATION (CONTINUED). 

The determination of the exact character of the foundation is 
entirely dependent upon the bearing capacity of the soil or founda¬ 
tion bed. In cases where there is large doubt as to what the bot¬ 
tom will carry per square foot of surface, it is always best to make 
some tests to arrive at definite conclusions; but in ordinary cases 
it is possible to adopt figures well within safe limits, and thus 
avoid the trouble and expense of experimenting. Unless the 
experiments are very carefully conducted, precedent is the better 
method. 

For the State Capitol at Albany, N. Y., one of the most impor¬ 
tant structures in the United States, very careful and elaborate 
experiments were conducted by W. J. McAlpine, the engineer in 
charge of the work; and as the material, which was blue clay, was 
found to sustain a load of 6 tons per square foot, it was decided to 
adopt 2 tons as the safe load to put upon the foundation bed. 

The Congressional Library at Washington, D. C. (Fig. 109), 
another very important building, had the foundation constructed 
to come within 2\ tons per square foot, although the yellow clay 
was found to carry a total load of 13J tons per square foot. 

It is always possible, of course, to thoroughly drain the founda¬ 
tions of a building, or to at least know the exact condition in which 
the foundation bed will exist; but for bridge work the circum¬ 
stances are very different, and after the foundation is once in place, 
unless it be on solid rock, examinations are very difficult, so that 
it is necessary to be much more sure as to what the material will 
carry. 

166 


t 


Fig. 109.—Congressional Library, Washington, 







i68 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


The Bismarck Bridge (Fig. no) across the Missouri River, 
on the line of the Northern Pacific Railway, has the piers (Fig. in) 
founded upon the clay which was found to sustain a load of 15 tons 
per square foot before settlement ensued, and the actual load is 
3 tons per square foot. From a report on this work the following 
account is taken of the character of the foundation bed: 

“With the exception of some thin strata of soft sandstone of 
irregular thickness and extent, no rock is found in position in this 
part of Dakota. The entire country is underlaid with a very hard 
stratified clay, the depth of which has not been ascertained. 
Borings proved this clay to be at least 100 feet thick on the line of 
the bridge, and a hole intended for an artesian well has since been 
sunk within the Bismarck city limits to a depth of over 1,300 feet 
in the clay. This clay, however, is in many respects more like a 
rock than a clay; small specimens tested for compression have 
sustained a weight of over 300 pounds per square inch without 
crushing, and w 7 fien they gave way yielded like rock, and showed 
no tendency to bulge out at the sides. Water has little or no effect 
upon this clay, even where the current is extremely strong, but 
w T hen exposed to the dry air the clay slakes rapidly and crumbles 
to pieces.” 

The Roebling Suspension Bridge at Cincinnati, Ohio, has the 
towers (Fig. 112) founded on coarse gravel, although by going 
12 feet deeper solid limestone could have been reached. The 
load of 3.63 tons per square foot adopted was, however, w r ell within 
safe limits for so large a spread as the base of the towers. 

“No definite plan of foundation had been fixed upon; none 
could be safely adopted before the excavations had been sunk 
some considerable depth. Whether a solid rock bottom could be 
reached on either side was uncertain; so also was the question 
of piling or solid layers of timber left open. It is known that the 
bed of the Ohio River is throughout its extent underlaid with rock, 
at no great distance below the surface. But the depths at which 
the rock is found varies very considerably. At all the rapids and 
shallows the rock forms the bed itself; in the pools between, 
heavy layers of gravel, sand, or mud are deposited. At or near 



Fig. no.—B ismarck Bridge, Northern Pacific Railway. 



















































ORDINAR Y ROUND A TIONS. 


1 7 ° 



the mouths of tributaries, the rock has 
generally been excavated by the action of 
the water to a great depth; the soft material 
has taken its place, and consequently good 
foundations can only be made by heavy ex¬ 
penditures. At the site of the bridge, a bed 
of blue limestone and shale, not very solid, 
underlies the river bed at a depth of about 
12 feet below the lowest part of the channel. 
A short distance above the bridge this shale 
is laid bare at low water on the Covington 
side, a part of it extending half way across. 
Under the Covington tower, a heavy bed 
of coarse sand, mixed with gravel, is found 
above the rock, while the surface layer is 
composed of the original clay bottom which 
forms the river banks. On the Cincinnati 
side, the original clay or loamy bottom has, 
to some extent, been washed away, and 
latterly been filled up again by the materials 
obtained from cellar excavations. 

“ In this artificial bank the excavation 
of the Cincinnati tower was commenced 
about the ist of September, 1856, and sunk 
down to the level of the river, which, during 
this and the next two months, fell to low- 
water mark. A little rise of 4 feet inter¬ 
vened, but the river fell again, and continued 
low until the month of December. It was 
owing to this remarkable favorable state 
of the river that we so w T ell succeeded in 
our foundations, and at a cost which must 
be considered as very small, considering 
their magnitude and the sudden floods which 
may occur at almost any time and sweep 
over and destroy costly preparations. 

























































































































THE EOWN DA TiON. 


i 7 1 

“ By a wise resolution of the Board of Managers, the work was 
not to be commenced before a bona fide cash subscription of 
$300,000 had been secured. Contrary to my expectations, this 



Fig. i 12.—Cincinnati Suspension Bridge. 

subscription was rapidly obtained; and in view of the promising 
state of the river, it was concluded to forthwith commence the 
foundation work. But no preparations whatever had been made, 
no materials on hand, no machinery, and no efficient pumps. 
The total want of the latter proved a very serious drawback, and 
seriously threatened to defeat the enterprise at the very outset. 











172 


ORD1NAR Y FOUR DA TIONS. 


It is true, the city was full of steamboat-pumps, but of such small 
dimensions and such construction that they were of no account 
in such an operation. Raising clean water is an easy process, 
but to raise large masses of soft mud and sand is not so easy. 
After experimenting and losing a few precious weeks in an en¬ 
deavor to work some patent rotary pumps, which utterly failed, we 
came very near to a complete halt. There was no time to get 
proper steam-pumps of large dimensions constructed at any of 
the shops in Cincinnati, nor could we expect them in time from 
the East; every day’s loss was irreparable—and so we were 
thrown back upon our own resources. Accordingly, I had four 
large square box-pumps constructed of 3-inch pine plank, strongly 
hooped, and 24 feet long; one pair 18 inches in the clear, the 
other 20 inches. Cast-iron gratings with large india-rubber 
flap-valves formed the piston and lower check-valves; heavy 
piston-rods, connected with chains which passed over sheaves, 
and were shackled to rods, extending over the coffer-dam down 
to the river. These pumps were put up vertically, in two pairs, 
one pair worked at a time. They were propelled by one of 
the engines of the then ‘Champion,’ No. 1, a powerful tow¬ 
boat, owned by Amos Shinklc, Esq., who generously placed it 
at my disposal. These pumps worked well and never failed; 
they threw mud and sand as effectively as pure water, and dis¬ 
charged 40 gallons at each lift. 

“ When the Cincinnati excavation was commenced, a strong 
oak sheet-piling was driven along the river-front to guard against 
the pressure of water. This, together with a solid embankment, 
proved a most efficient coffer-dam on the river side. Owing to 
its low stage, the river gave us no trouble at all. But by the 
great depth and extent of the foundation, most of the wells along 
the rising ground, back of Cincinnati, were laid dry. We drained 
their supplies, and had to pump them out; and this copious 
influx came from a quarter totally unexpected. The excava¬ 
tion, however, proceeded rapid y day and night, until all the 
clay and sand was removed, and a deep layer of coarse sand and 
gravel was laid bare. Soundings were now made by driving 


THE FOUNDATION. 


long iron bars to the limestone shale underneath, which proved 
to be about 12 feet lower. A depth of over 12 feet below ex¬ 
treme low water was reached, and the question now arose, 
whether to go to the rock, to pile, or to lay down a solid timber 
platform. 

“A compact bed of gravel, if left undisturbed, and protected 
against undermining and washing, stands next to a solid rock 
foundation, provided that unequal settling is guarded against. 
Had this tower been located inside of low-water mark, I should 
have decided upon going down to the rock, although one season’s 
loss would have been the consequence. Piling I considered 
inferior to the plan adopted, to say nothing of the loss of time. It 
was therefore decided to stop at the gravel, and to build a solid 
timber foundation up to low-water mark, thence to commence 
the masonry. If the timber could be obtained in time in sufficient 
cpiantity, the success of this kind of foundation was much more 
certain to be achieved, and with less risk and cost, than any 
other plan. 

“The timber foundation, thus laid, forms a platform of no 
feet long by 75 feet wide, composed of twelve courses or layers 
next to the river, but stepped off towards the land side to eight 
courses, in consequence of the greater hardness of the gravel, 
almost equal to hard-pan. We were obliged to employ all kinds 
of timber, soft and hard, mixed, as white pine, oak, maple, 
hickory, button-wood, elm, beech. The length of logs also varied 
from 25 to 40 feet. They were all flattened and counter-hewed 
to an even thickness of 12 inches, leaving the other two sides 
rough. The courses were crossed at right angles; each stick 
was thoroughly secured by iron rag-bolts of 18 inches long and 
1 inch in diameter. The vertical joints were left open and filled 
with clean gravel and broken stone. Every course was leveled 
off with the adze and then thoroughly grouted with cement grout 
before the next course was laid down. Care was also taken in 
breaking the longitudinal joints efficiently. A solid platform 
of timber, no feet long, 75 feet wide, 12 feet deep on the river 
side, and 8 feet on the land side, well put together in the manner 


OR DINAR Y h O LINDA 7 IONS. 


i 74 

described offers a foundation nearly as good as rock, provided it 
is guarded against undermining. 

“The result has fully justified my expectation. I have not 
been able to discover any settlement during the progress of the 
masonry; its condition to-day proves the excellence of the founda¬ 
tion. There are 16,000 perches of 25 cubic feet, equal to 400,000 
cubic feet, of solid masonry in each tower. Allowing 150 pounds 
as the average weight of one cubic foot, the total weight of one 
tower is 60 millions of pounds, or 30,000 tons net. 'The area of 
the timber foundation being 110X75 = 8,250 superficial feet, 
the weight upon each foot is 3.63 tons or 7,272 pounds, or 50! 
pounds per superficial inch. This is equivalent to a solid mass 
of iron of 15 feet depth. Now experience proves that such a 
weight of iron will be supported upon a clay floor, if its surface 
is well consolidated by tamping. In the case of high chimney- 
stacks, elevated 300 to 400 feet, a still greater pressure is some¬ 
times produced upon each superficial foot.” 

The great Brooklyn Bridge, also constructed under John A. 
Roebling, had the towers landed on a few feet of sand overlying 
bed-rock, and the load was allowed to run up to 5J tons per 
square foot. 

The bridges in London, England, are nearly all founded upon 
the stratum known as “London Clay,” and the Charing Cross 
Bridge causes a pressure upon it of in the neighborhood of 9 tons 
per square foot, while on the Cannon street bridge the load runs 
to in the neighborhood of 6J tons per square foot. Both of 
these structures, however, have shown considerable settlement, 
and when the great Tower Bridge was designed it was decided 
to reduce these loadings very materially. Tests made by sink¬ 
ing a trial cylinder showed settlement under 6J tons per square 
foot, and, disregarding skin friction of the caisson and the buoy¬ 
ancy of the water, 4 tons was adopted as the safe load; although, 
taking these into account, the actual load per square foot was 
between 1 and 2 tons. 

The cantilever bridge at Memphis, Tenn. (Fig. 113), con¬ 
structed by George S. Morison, has piers founded upon pneu- 



Fig. 113.—Piers of Memphis Cantilever. 














176 


ORDINAR Y FOUNDA TIONS. 


matic caissons, and tests were made to determine the maximum 
bearing capacity of the soil, which was a compact clay, and it 
was found to have an ultimate bearing capacity of 9J tons. 

Although the foregoing represent what is the best practice 
in regard to the allowable loads per square foot on various classes 
of soil, they have in many cases been much exceeded. For 
example, the foundation of the Washington Monument causes 
a pressure on the very fine sand of n tons per square foot, although 
a maximum of about 14 tons is reached during a high wind. 
Similar overloaded conditions exist with many bridges, as the 
Gorai Bridge causes a pressure of 9 tons on the close-sand founda¬ 
tion, and nearly as much pressure is put upon the sand bottom in 
the Nantes Bridge, where pressure reaches 8J tons per square 
foot, although this has settled some, indicating that such high 
figures are nearer the ultimate bearing capacity than safe loads. 
A mixture of clay and sand on which the Szegedin Bridge in 
Hungary is founded carries a load of tons per square foot, 
although it was found necessary to relieve this foundation by 
driving piles. 

The above data as to the carrying capacity of soil of various 
kinds may be supplemented by stating that the safe loads for 
soils per square foot may be rapidly increased for hard-pan, 
cemented gravel, and, of course, very largely increased for rocky 
ground, as in the case of the Roquefavour Aqueduct in France 
where the pressure reaches 15 tons per square foot. 

Probably the most generally accepted values for foundation 
loads, that is, the amount which can be placed with safety upon 
a square foot of foundation bed, are those given by Prof. I. O. 
Baker in an article published in the American Architect , in 
which he states the maximum allowable load to be 25 tons per 
square foot for rock, of similar hardness as is used in the best 
ashlar masonry, 15 tons per square foot for rock equal to the 
best brick masonry, 5 tons per square foot for rock equal to 
poor brick masonry, 4 tons for dry clay, 2 tons for moderately 
dry clay, 1 ton for soft clay, 8 tons for cemented gravel and 
coarse sand, 4 tons for compact and well-cemented sand, 2 tons 


7 HE FOUNDATION. 


1 77 


for clean, dry sand, and 0.5 ton for quicksand and alluvial 
soils, although these figures can be increased from 25 to 100 
per cent., depending upon circumstances and as the judgment 
of the engineer on the work may dictate. 

The building laws of Greater New York are more generally 
used as a model and authority than any other building rules, 
and the following extracts cover the provisions as to founda¬ 
tions: 

“Where no test of the sustaining power of the soil is made, 
different soils, excluding mud, at the bottom of the footings, 
shall be deemed to safely sustain the following loads to the super¬ 
ficial foot, namely: 

Soft clay, 1 ton per square foot; 

Ordinary clay and sand together, in layers, wet and springy, 
2 tons per square foot; 

Loam, clay, or fine sand, firm and dry, 3 tons per square 
foot; 

Very firm, coarse sand, stiff gravel, or hard clay, 4 tons per 
square foot, or as otherwise determined by the Commissioner 
of Buildings having jurisdiction. 

Where a test is made of the sustaining power of the soil the 
Commissioner of Buildings shall be notified so that he may be 
present in person or by representative. The record of the test 
shall be filed in the Department of Buildings. 

When a doubt arises as to the safe sustaining power of the 
earth upon which a building is to be erected the Department 
of Buildings may order borings to be made, or direct the sustain¬ 
ing power of the soil to be tested by and at the expense of the 
owner of the proposed building. 

The loads exerting pressure under the footings of foundations 
in buildings more than three stories in height are to be com¬ 
puted as follows: 

For warehouses and factories they are to be the full dead 
load and the full live load established by this code, which also 
gives the loads from other buildings. 

Footings shall be so designed that the loads will be as nearly 


178 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


uniform as possible and not in excess of the safe bearing capac¬ 
ity of the soil, as hereinbefore given. 

Every building, except buildings erected upon solid rock or 
buildings erected upon wharves and piers on the water-front, 
shall have foundations of brick, stone, iron, steel, or concrete 
laid not less than 4 feet below the surface of the earth, on the 
solid ground or level surface of work, or upon piles or ranging 
timbers when solid earth or rock is not found. 

Piles intended to sustain a wall, pier, or post shall be spaced 
not more than 36 or less than 20 inches on centers, and they shall 
be driven to a solid bearing if practicable to do so, and the num¬ 
ber of such piles shall be sufficient to support the superstructure 
proposed. 

No pile shall be used of less dimensions than 5 inches at the 
small end and 10 inches at the butt for short piles, or piles 20 feet 
or less in length, and 20 inches at the butt for long piles, or piles 
more than 20 feet in length. 

No pile shall be weighed with a load exceeding 40,000 
pounds. 

When a pile is not driven to refusal, its safe sustaining power 
shall be determined by the following formula: Twice the weight 
of the hammer in tons multiplied by the height of the fall in feet 
divided by least penetration of pile under the last blow in inches, 
plus one. The Commissioner of Buildings shall be notified of the 
time when such test piles will be driven, that he may be present 
in person or by representative. 

The tops of all piles shall be cut off below the lowest water-line. 

When required, concrete shall be rammed down in the inter¬ 
spaces between the heads of the piles to a depth and thickness of 
not less than 12 inches and for 1 foot in width outside of the piles. 

Where ranging and capping timbers are laid on piles for foun¬ 
dations, they shall be of hard wood not less than 6 inches thick 
and properly joined together, and their tops laid below the lowest 
water-line. 

Where metal is incorporated in or forms part of a foundation 
it shall be thoroughly protected from rust by paint, asphaltuirq 


THE FOUNDATION. 


179 


concrete, or by such materials and in such manner as may be 
approved by the Commissioner of Buildings. 

When footings of iron or steel for columns are placed below 
the water-level, they shall be similarly coated, or inclosed in con¬ 
crete, for preservation against rust. 

When foundations are carried down through earth by piers of 
stone, brick, or concrete in caissons, the loads on same shall be 
not more than— 

Fifteen tons to the square foot when carried down to rock; 

Ten tons to the square foot when carried down to firm gravel 
or hard clay; 

Eight tons to the square foot in open caissons or sheet-pile 
trenches when carried down to rock. 

Wood piles may be used for the foundations under frame 
buildings built over the water or on salt-rreadow land, in which 
case the piles may project above the water a sufficient height to 
raise the building above high tide, and the building may be placed 
directly thereon without other foundation. 

Foundation walls shall be construed to include all walls and 
piers built below the curb level, or nearest tier of beams to the 
curb, to serve as supports for walls, piers, columns, girders, posts, 
or beams. 

Foundation walls shall be built of stone, brick, Portland 
cement concrete, iron, or steel. 

If built of rubble stone or Portland cement concrete, they 
shall be at least 8 inches thicker than the wall next above them 
to a depth of 12 feet below the curb level; and for every addi¬ 
tional 10 feet, or part thereof, deeper they shall be increased 
4 inches in thickness. 

If built of brick, they shall be at least 4 inches thicker than 
the wall next above them to a depth of 12 feet below the curb 
level; and for every additional 10 feet, or part thereof, deeper 
they shall be increased 4 inches in thickness. 

The footing or base course shall be of stone or concrete, or 
both, or of concrete and stepped-up brickwork, of sufficient thick¬ 
ness and area to safely bear the weight to be imposed thereon. 


i8o 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


If the footing or base course be of concrete, the concrete shall 
not be less than 12 inches thick. 

If of stone, the stones shall not be less than 2'X^', and at 
least 8 inches in thickness for walls; and not less than 10 inches 
in thickness if under piers, columns, or posts. 

The footing or base course, whether formed of concrete or 
stone, shall be at least 12 inches wider than the bottom width of 
walls, and at least 12 inches wider on all sides than the bottom 
width of said piers, columns, or posts. 

If the superimposed load is such as to cause undue transverse 
strain on a footing projecting 12 inches, the thickness of such 
footing is to be increased so as to carry the load with safety. 

For small structures and for small piers sustaining light loads? 
the Commissioner of Buildings having jurisdiction may, in his 
discretion, allow a reduction in the thickness and projection for 
footings or base courses herein specified. 

All base stones shall be well bedded and laid crosswise, edge 
to edge. 

If stepped-up footings of brick are used, in place of stone, 
above the concrete, the offsets, if laid in single courses, shall each 
not exceed ij inches, or if laid in double courses, then each shall 
not exceed 3 inches, offsetting the first course of brickwork, back 
one-half the thickness of the concrete base, so as to properly dis¬ 
tribute the load to be imposed thereon. 

If, in place of a continuous foundation wall, isolated piers are 
to be built to support the superstructure, where the nature of the 
ground and the character of the building make it necessary, in 
the opinion of the Commissioner of Buildings having jurisdiction, 
inverted arches resting on a proper bed of concrete, both designed 
to transmit with safety the superimposed loads, shall be turned 
between the piers. The thrust of the outer piers shall be taken 
up by suitable wrought-iron or steel rods and plates. 

Grillage beams of wrought iron or steel resting on a proper 
concrete bed may be used. Such beams must be provided with 
separators and bolts inclosed and filled solid between with con- 


THE FOUNDATION. 


181 


Crete, and of such sizes and so arranged as to transmit with safety 
the superimposed loads. 

All stone walls 24 inches or less in thickness shall have at 
least one header extending through the wall in every 3 feet in 
height from the bottom of the wall, and in every 3 feet in length, 
and if over 24 inches in thickness, shall have one header for every 
6 superficial feet on both sides of the wall, laid on top of each 
other to bond together, and running into the wall at least 2 feet. 

All headers shall be at least 12 inches in width and 8 inches 
in thickness and consist of good flat stones. 

No stone shall be laid in such walls in any other position than 
on its natural bed. 

No stone shall be used that does not bond or extend into the 
wall at least 6 inches. 

Stones shall be firmly bedded in cement mortar and all spaces 
and joints thoroughly filled.” 


CHAPTER XII. 


LOCATION AND DESIGN OF PIERS. 

Piers of a bridge cannot always be located with reference to 
easy construction nor spaced at economical distances apart. In 
thickly settled parts of a country, or as part of an existing line of 
communication, the bridge must be located usually in a position 
previously determined, and the piers can only be spaced with 
regard to economy, provided due regard can at the same time be 
paid to the needs of navigation, government requirements, and 
sufficient waterway. 

Where the bridge is to be constructed in a new country, or 
upon a new line of road, the crossing should be selected where 
the river is of moderate width; that is, not so wide as to demand 
a structure of excessive length and probably of excessive cost, 
nor so narrow that the current will be exceedingly swift and 
make the foundations very difficult and costly to build, unless, 
of course, it is narrow enough to admit of using a one-span struc¬ 
ture at a reasonable cost. 

On all the large navigable rivers, the channel is fixed and the 
length of the channel span prescribed by law, as is also the method 
of procedure in obtaining the approval of the government engineers. 
The Secretary of War must be furnished with a copy of the State 
law authorizing the construction of the bridge, certified to by the 
Secretary of State under seal; drawings in triplicate showing the 
general plan of the bridge; a map in triplicate showing the loca¬ 
tion of the bridge, giving, for the distance of one mile above and 
one-half mile below the proposed location, the high- and low-water 

lines upon the banks of the stream, the direction and strength of the 

182 


LOCATION AND DESIGN OF PIERS. 183 

current at high and low water, with the soundings accurately 
showing the bed of the stream, and the location of any other 
bridge or bridges, such map to be sufficiently in detail to enable 
the Secretary of War to judge of the proper location of the bridge. 
In addition to the above, if the applicant is a corporation, there 
will be required a certified copy of its articles of incorporation, 
a certified copy of the minutes of the organization of the company, 
and an abstract of the minutes of the corporation, showing the 
present officers of the company, all duly certified to. 

When the location of the bridge has been made, a thorough 
examination of the site must be instituted. Soundings must be 
made to determine the depth of the stream at low water; ordinary 
and extreme high-water lines must be established and the flow 
of the stream be obtained. A careful examination must be carried 
out as to the character of the river bed, and drillings made to learn 
the character and thickness of strata and the distance to bed-rock, 
as well as the quality of it. 

Borings to a small depth may be made by hand-drills (Fig. 114, A ) r 
which are operated by striking with a sledge and turned constantly 



Fig. i 14.—Hand-drill and Swab. 


to keep a round bore, or if long and heavy they will cut their way, 
if simply raised up and allowed to drop, with their own weight. 
The hole is kept partly filled with water and can be cleaned out 
with a small sand-pump or with a swab (Fig. 114, B) made from a 
stick slivered at the end, which will also bring up samples. 

The Pierce steel prospecting auger is a tool which can also be 
used without a derrick to bore test holes from 10 to 50 feet into 
loose soils or clay. Holes from 2J to 6 inches in diameter can be 
drilled and samples obtained. The auger can be turned either 
by hand-wrenches or by horse-power. 



















ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS 


184 


Where the borings are to be of an extensive character a well- 
drilling machine can be utilized, such as shown in Fig. 115, and 



Fig. 115.—Steam-power Well-driller. 

♦ 

which can be run onto an ordinary flatboat and towed to place. 
The tools for drilling are a temper screw for regulating the 


















































LOCATION AND DESIGN OF PIERS. 


185 


height of the drill, a sinker bar to give the weight, steel jars, and 
drilling-bits. A sand-pump is used to clean the hole and obtain 
samples; rope-spears, rope-knives, and fishing-tools to remove lost 
rope, tools, and pebbles or other obstructions. The drill holes, 
unless through rock, are cased with iron pipe which can be with¬ 
drawn when the hole is completed. 

The borings made by the Mississippi River Commission were 
very extensive and a special tripod apparatus (Fig. 116 was 
devised with a view to easy transportation and easy repair in the 
field. The tripod was 30 feet in height, with a strong head or cap, 
surmounted by a galvanized-iron guide-pipe 20 feet in height, in 
two sections, and held in place with guy-ropes. The men operating 
the tools stood upon the triangular platforms which were attached 
to the legs. The casing was iron pipe in 10-feet lengths and 
screwed together so as to present a smooth surface, while the 
bottom was provided with a steel cutting-shoe, having a mouth 
slightly larger than the pipe. The sinking is accomplished by 
driving and twisting, the driving being done by means of the 
clamp on the pipe and the maul sliding on the pipe. (Fig. 117.) 
The weight of the maul is from 80 to 100 pounds and is worked 
by three men giving it a lift of about 2 feet, the best results being 
obtained when the men act in concert and give rapid blows. The 
removal of the core and samples is accomplished by means of the 
various tools shown in Fig. 116, and requires great care and con¬ 
siderable experience. The pump was raised and lowered by 
means of the reel attached to one leg of the tripod, and its distance 
from the surface noted from graduations on the pump-rod. When 
the boring is completed the tube is withdrawn by a system of 
compound levers, assisted by a set of differential blocks when 
necessary, as the force exerted was often as much as the strength 
of the pipe at the joints. The pebble-tongs were for use in remov¬ 
ing large pebbles which would not enter the pumps, and for recover¬ 
ing lost tools or the pump itself in case of becoming detached. 

The above account is taken from the report of J. W. Nier, 
assistant engineer, to which reference must be made for other 
details. 


186 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


When the examination of the site has been completed and 
the borings finished, the form of foundations may be decided 



upon, due weight being given to good foundations and to the 
allowable expenditure. Should the obtaining of good founda- 


Fig. ii6.—Test-boring Apparatus, Mississippi River Commission. 
























































































































































































LOCATION AND DESIGN OF PIERS. 


137 


tions be seen to be very expensive, long spans must be adopted 
to require few piers in the river; but if in¬ 
expensive, much shorter spans, with more 
piers, may be used. 

The length of spans for a least cost 
of structure was formerly assumed to be 
decided when the cost of one span was 
made equal to the cost of one pier, and 
for spans of certain capacity this might be 
approximately true, but a very neat mathe¬ 
matical solution of this problem by Alfred 
D. Ottewell, consulting engineer, was pub¬ 
lished in the Engineering News of December 
14, 1889. The total length of the structure 
in feet was represented by /, the number 
of spans by n, the length of one span in 
feet lAn by s, the cost of one span in 
dollars by c, the cost of one pier in dollars 
by the total cost of the structure in dollars 
by y, while a and b are constants. 

From the estimated cost of a large 
number of spans, a curve of costs was 
plotted and the following equation of a 
parabola deduced: 

(s— 20) 2 

T“- * * 



c = a J r 


(1) 


Fig. 117.— Clamp and 
Maul. 


Since there are n spans and n -\-1 piers, the total cost of the struc¬ 
ture would be 


y=nc-\-(n-\-i')p .(2) 

Then by substituting the value of c from (i), reducing and making 
the first differential coefficient equal to zero, the cost of one pier 
is obtained, which will make the total cost of the structure a 
minimum, or 



s 2 — (ab + 400) 

~b 















































i88 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


Or when the cost of a pier has been estimated, the economical 
length of span may be found by a transposition of the above 
formula: 

s — S/ cib -j- 400 T pb. .(4) 

The values of a and b may be found by substituting in equa¬ 
tion (1) computed values of the cost of a number of spans for 
an actual loading. Values of 5, p, and c may then be computed 
and tabulated for spans from 100 feet upwards, as formula (1) 
is not true for shorter lengths. 

In an actual calculation for B. & O. R.R. loading, which 
consists of two 125-ton engines followed by a 4,000-pound per 
lineal foot train-load, a was found equal to 1,950 and b to 3.05. 
Assuming a case where the length of the bridge is 700 feet, where 
the height of the piers will average 25 feet, and the average cost 
of piers and abutments be $4,310, then from formula (4) the 
economical span will be found equal to 160 feet. The total 
cost of the structure will be found, by using formula (1), and 
the cost of piers as above, to be $59,700; while with only four 
spans of 175 feet the total cost would exceed $60,800, and with 
six spans of 117 feet would be about $61,400. 

Should there be any doubt as to the ease of obtaining founda¬ 
tions, the prudent engineer might deem it wise, however, to 
build the four-span structure and avoid the risk and delay which 
would be caused by another foundation in the river. 

After deciding upon the number and location of the piers, 
they must be designed with reference both to their being as slight 
obstructions to the water as possible and to their architectural 
appearance. 

The design of piers has been given particular attention by the 
late Geo. S. Morison, consulting engineer, whose work on the 
bridges across our great rivers is notable for its strength, simplicity, 
and finished appearance. In a lecture he described the process 
of the design of some large piers: “Fourteen years ago I had 
occasion to design a bridge pier for a bridge across one of our 
Western rivers, and I tried to make an ornamental pier. When 




LOCATION AND DESIGN OF PIERS. i8i> 

the plans were completed I did not like them. One change 
after another was made, all tending to simplicity. Finally the 
plans were done. From high water down, the pier was adapted 
to pass the water with the least disturbance; it had parallel sides 
and the ends were formed of two circular arcs meeting. Above 
high water the ends were made semicircular instead of being 
pointed. The pier was built throughout with a batter of one 
in twenty-four. A coping 2 feet wider than the body of the 
pier projected far enough to shed water, and the projection was 
divided between the coping and the course below. Another 
coping with a less projection surmounted the pointed ends where 
the shape was changed. It was as simple a pier as could be 
built, and in every way fitted to do its duty. I had started to 
make a handsome pier. The pier that was exactly what was 
wanted for the work was the only one that satisfied the demands 
of beauty. Forty-three piers of precisely this design [no change 
having been made except in the varying dimensions required 
for different structures], besides eight others in which only the 
lower parts are modified, are now standing in eleven different 
bridges across three great Western rivers. In designing a pier 
it must be remembered that the portion of the pier below the 
water has more to do with the free passage of the water than that 
above water. In a deep river the model form of the pier should 
begin near the bottom of the river and not at low water. Many 
rivers in flood time carry a great amount of drift. A pier like 
that which I have described catches but little of this drift. If, 
however, a rectangular foundation terminates but little below 
water, that foundation may both disturb the current and catch 
the drift.” 

The piers of the Omaha Bridge which carries the Union 
Pacific across the Missouri River are illustrated in Fig. 118, and 
were constructed as described and arc among the most beautiful 
piers in this country. 

In Europe, where money is more lavishly expended on great 
works of engineering, piers of great architectural beauty are 
much more frequent. The Russian Government railways, 









M 5 M: 






^.Ti' *»&£**% , Mh&J 


$!&« 

S^i :*ti 


ft* SKIIS 

iisfggl 




*<’«■■£ ■I'Zr' J-U'K 


('•* 


r • 


Fig. ii8.—Pier of Omaha Bridge, Union Pacific System. 


190 







LOCATION AND DESIGN OF PIERS. 191 

^\hich have seemingly been constructed without regard to expense, 
na\e many beautiful examples of bridge masonry and piers; 
the view of one of them (Fig. 119), with curved ends, shows the 
elegant and massive character of the masonry. While extremely 


simple in design, the cut-stone coping and the molded corbel 
course below give it a finish which cannot be surpassed. 

The design of piers for strength and stability is fully treated 
in Baker’s “ Masonry Construction,” but some experiments, which 
were made with reference to the proper form to occasion the 
least resistance, will be quoted at length from Cresy. 

The introduction of piers into a channel gives rise to a great 
disturbance in the velocity and flow of the water. Rapid cur- 


Fig. i 19.—Russian Pile, Russian State Railways. 













I 92 


ORDINAR Y hOUNDATIONS. 


rents are formed which cause the bed of the stream to become 
washed and the foundations to be endangered; eddies are created 
which are likewise undesirable, and it becomes necessary to 
adopt such a form for the ends of the piers that the disturbance 
to the flow shall be small. 

M. Bossut, in a French work on jetties, thought to have solved 
this problem by mathematics, his conclusion being that the star¬ 
ling should be triangular, the nose being a right angle. 

M. Dubuat, in his “Principles of Hydraulics,” gave another 
solution which was more nearly the truth, in that he arrived at 
the conclusion that the faces of the starling should be convex 
curves. The true form is most nearly reached when these curves 
are tangent to the sides of the pier, and, further than this, regard 
must be paid to giving enough solidity to the starlings to protect 
them from ice and drift. A happy medium would seem to be 
reached by making the curves with a radius equal to one-sixth 
of the circumference, described on the sides of an equilateral 
triangle. 

Experiments were made with models of different forms, 
which were placed in a rectangular canal between boards of 
50 centimeters in length, in which the water flowed about 40 
millimeters in height, the models being 15 centimeters in thick¬ 
ness. By means of a fall, the water was given a velocity of 
3 meters 9 centimeters per second, the contraction, eddies, and 
currents being carefully measured. The first experiment was 
made on a pier (Fig. 120, a) with rectangular starling. An 
eddy was formed before the pier 34 millimeters high, in a nearly 
circular band A, falling nearly vertical at the corner. There 
were two other currents along the faces of the pier, the height 
of which can be seen in the cross-sections. 

The second experiment (Fig. 120, b ) was with a triangular 
starling, the nose being a right angle. It formed a less obstruc¬ 
tion than the square end, but the fall at the shoulder was as 
deep and more dangerous, while eddies were formed as seen in 
the sections. 


LOCATION AND DESIGN OF PIERS. 193 , 



Fig. 120.—Cresy’s Experiments on the Form of Piers. 
























































































































































































































































































































































i 9 4 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


The third one (Fig. 120, c) had a semicircular starling. The 
eddy was not so wide, but nearly as high. 

The fourth model had a triangular starling, with an angle 
of 6o° at the nose (Fig. 120, d). The eddy was less, as was 
also the fall at the shoulder. 

The starling in the fifth was formed by two circular arcs, 
tangent to the sides and described on the sides of an equilateral 
triangle (Fig. 120, e). The eddy was small and there was no 
fall at the shoulder. 

The sixth (Fig. 120, /) was a model the plan of which was 
an ellipse, of which the small diameter was one-fourth the length 
and the eddy was less than any of the others. 

The seventh model (Fig. i2i,a) had a starling with concave 
faces, such as is sometimes used where the wing-wall meets an 
abutment. It produced the most dangerous currents of all. 

The eighth (Fig. 121, b) was of the same form as Fig. 120, e, 
but the water was supposed to mount the springing of the arch. 

The ninth and tenth experiments (Figs. 121, c and 121, d) 
were on the same forms as Figs. 120, e and 120, /, but the current 
had a velocity of 4 meters 87 centimeters per second, such as a 
river would have in its overflow. The eddy (Fig. 121, c) rose to 
nearly twice the height, as was the case with the lesser velocity, 
and, while there was no fall, the inclination formed along the 
faces was more rapid. 

The effect with this velocity on the elliptical pier (Fig. 121, d) 
was similar to the lesser velocity, but more marked. It may 
thus be concluded that the elliptical section offers the least resist¬ 
ance to the current and occasions the least contraction, while 
the form with convex starling comes next, and of piers with 
triangular starlings the one with the 6o° nose is the best. 

Where ice is to be provided for, the nose is often inclined to 
allow large cakes to mount it and break in two, without doing 
further damage. For any large or important structure, the 
design of the piers should receive a great deal of study, and be 
designed not only with reference to their theoretical form, but 
with reference to the form of pier which has shown the best 


LOCATION AND DESIGN OF PIERS . 


*95 


results practically and has been found to be best suited to the 
velocity of the stream in which they are to be built, and to best 



Fig. i2 i .—Cresy’s Experiments on the Form of Piers. 


withstand the drift and ice that may be met with, giving at the 
same time all the consideration possible to the architectural 
effect and to the harmony with the entire structure. 




































































































































































































































































CHAPTER XIII. 


LOCATION AND DESIGN OF PIERS (CONTINUED). 

The stones most used in the building of piers are granite, 
sandstone, marble, and limestone; the amount of granite used 
for this purpose being about the same or possibly a little less 
than sandstone. Next to these, limestone is used most largely 
and marble the least of the four, owing to the fact that most 
marble is suitable for dressed stonework for buildings and too 
expensive for use in piers. 

Granite is most largely produced in the New England States, 
and notably in Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Next to 
these States comes California with about as much of an output 
as Vermont. Only fifteen of the States in the Union do not 
have an output of granite, so that it may be said to be avail¬ 
able at greater or less cost in any part of the United States. 

Sandstone is most largely produced in Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
and New York, although but thirteen of the States are non¬ 
producers of this most commonly used building material. 

Marble is most largely produced in Vermont, although New 
York, Tennessee, and Georgia have extensive quarries and are 
large producers. 

Limestone is extensively quarried in Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
New York, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana, only six 
States being without output of this stone. 

Granite is the best building stone for use in constructing 
piers, and under this head are included the true granites, gneiss, 
mica-schist, andesite, syenite, and quartz-porphyry. 

Sandstone covers all the consolidated sands, the strength of 

iq6 



Fig. 122.—General View Ohio Freestone Quarry, 













ORDINAR Y FOUND A TIO NS. 


19 S 

sandstone depending entirely upon the cementing material, as 
it is simply quartz grains cemented together, and when silica 
is the cementing material it is the very best. Quarrymen term 
sandstone according to its quality as bluestone, freestone, and 
conglomerates. 

Limestone is usually the least valuable of stone that is used 
in building piers, owing to the fact that it is too soft and stands 
the weather poorly. It consists practically of amorphous cal¬ 
cium carbonate, sometimes cemented together by crystalline sub¬ 
stances with many impurities. Under the head of limestone is 
also usually included magnesium carbonate, called magnesium 
limestone, and when the stone is about equally made up of car¬ 
bonate of lime and magnesium it is termed dolomite. Dolo¬ 
mite is much harder than ordinary limestone, and consequently 
forms a much better building material. Chemically, there is 
little difference between limestone and marble, except that marble 
has been crystallized by the action of heat. 

Of the quality of the granite to be obtained in any part of the 
United States very little need be said, as it is always a desirable 
building material, and only the question of cost comes up for 
consideration as to whether it can be used or not. In the New 
England States, Georgia, California, and Washington it is cheap 
enough to make it possible to use it wherever a reasonable amount 
of money is available for the construction of bridge piers or foun¬ 
dations of any sort. The softer sandstones obtainable through¬ 
out the country and which have a compressive strength of about 
5,000 pounds per square inch are suitable for building bridge piers 
where not too much ice is to be contended with or abrasive action 
of any character. 

The freestones of northeastern Ohio, and similar stone wher¬ 
ever found throughout the United States and similar to the Chuck- 
anut stone of Puget Sound, are almost as desirable as granite for 
the construction of piers. 

Limestone does not very often occur of such quality as to war¬ 
rant its use in masonry construction, and while it may seem to be 
of sufficient hardness to warrant consideration, attention need 


LOCATION AND DESIGN OF PIERS. 


199 


only be called to its use in the State Capitol building of Ohio, 
where it has weathered badly, to make it seem advisable to find 
some other material if possible. 

Where marble is plenty, it is of course of sufficient strength 
and hardness to make it desirable for use in foundation work and 
for piers, provided the cost is not excessive, and a poorer quality 
of marble found in Tennessee and Georgia, and known as iron 
limestone, is certainly one of the best building stones to be found 
anywhere. The most famous limestone to be found in the United 
States is the oolitic limestone of Indiana. It is very easily quar¬ 
ried and hardens on exposure to the air, so that it is quite durable; 
and, on account of the large size of the blocks in which it can be 
gotten out, is very much used for massive work. 

One of the things least often considered in the selection of 
stone for ordinary piers is the color; although, in the case of 
piers for city bridges, towers for suspension bridges, or work of 
this character it is very desirable to have the material of pleasing 
appearance, and this is most readily found in the granites and 
marbles. The ordinary gray or bluish gray of many of the sand¬ 
stones is also very pleasing, and in many cases other colors can 
be found for belt courses, copings, and trimmings of various kinds. 

While the color of stone is apt to change considerably after it 
is quarried, it is usually possible to know what the change will 
amount to, by seeing stone of the same kind that has been in 
use. The gray color of many of the granites is due to a mixture 
of light feldspar with a dark-colored mica and very fine horn¬ 
blende. The sedimentary rocks are colored with iron and various 
other minerals, and it is always necessary when iron is the color¬ 
ing-matter to make sure that in weathering the stone will not 
turn rusty. 

One of the most important qualities to be taken into account 
in selecting building stone is its durability under changes of tem¬ 
perature and abrasion, although the stone may prove valueless 
owing to chemical changes due either to its going to pieces by 
the action of the water, carbon dioxide, or some of the organic 
acids. The change of temperature affects rock by the unequal 


200 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


expansion and contraction of the various minerals composing it, 
or the rock may be so porous as to become filled with water, 
and when this freezes the expansion of the ice will cause it to 
crack or break. The report on the building stones of Wisconsin 
states that “the expansive force of heat is well shown in many of 
the limestone quarries of Wisconsin, where beds from 5 to 6 
inches in thickness are for the first time exposed to the heat of 
the summer sun. These thin beds become heated throughout 
their entire thickness, and arch up on the floor of the quarry, 
generally breaking and completely destroying the stone.” The 
effect of freezing and thawing is well stated in Volume II of the 
Washington Geological Survey as follows: “All rocks are more 
or less porous; and these pores, before the rock is quarried, always 
contain more or less water, and after being quarried for some 
time and exposed to the atmosphere they lose this water. How¬ 
ever, when rain-storms occur they are apt to absorb more water, 
and if the temperature falls below the freezing-point when the 
stone is in this condition the water will be frozen. As is well 
known, water on freezing expands and in expanding exerts a 
pressure or expansive force equal to about 150 tons to the square 
foot. It is plain to see that if the rock contains any very large 
amount of water and freezes, the result will be the spreading 
apart or separating somewhat of the particles composing the 
stone. Then the water thaws and freezes again, and so on in¬ 
definitely, and the result is that particles are finally completely 
loosened and fall out. This effect is principally on the surface 
of the rock and is the cause of the scaling frequently seen in 
buildings that are built of certain kinds of stone. In addition to 
the pores, which occur in the rocks, there are the openings which 
occur along the joint, bedding and foliation planes. Water fall¬ 
ing on the surface of the ground and more or less of it sinking 
into it enter these cracks or crevices; and while it will flow more 
readily along these than it does through the pores of the rock, 
still many times these will be filled and freeze while in that con¬ 
dition. As has already been stated, water when freezing exerts 
a very great expansive force and will tend to separate the rocks 


LOCATION AND DESIGN OF PIERS. 


201 


along these planes, and when the ice melts the rocks do not come 
back to their original position, but retain the position they had 
when the water was frozen in them. Then these cracks are 
filled again and refrozen, and the seams opened a little farther, 
and the same process repeated time after time finally produces a 
perceptible effect and tends to weaken the stone. This is espe¬ 
cially true of sedimentary deposits such as sandstones, particu¬ 
larly where they have marked bedding planes.” 

The effect of ice, driftwood, and the like is to abrade the sur¬ 
faces of piers so that with stone that is at all soft it becomes a very 
serious matter. The action of sand carried by wind-storms, while 
very destructive, can hardly be considered in the design of piers, as 
it is seldom that they are so situated as to be affected in this way. 

The mineralogical composition of stones has a very important 
bearing upon their durability, but, as this is fully treated in works 
on mineralogy, it will not be gone into here. 

Chemical and microscopic examinations are often of value, 
and for any large piece of work, or where the stone as proposed 
for use has not been used for any great length of time, these tests 
should be made; but, as a general rule, the physical tests are 
of very much greater value. Nearly all of our universities and 
many of the larger engineering offices now have testing-machines 
(Fig. 123), so that tests can easily be made. They should be 
carried out by standard methods, so that they will be of value for 
tabulation with the results of other investigators, and of use to 
future consumers of the stone. 

It was formerly the custom to make tests on i-inch cubes ? 
but wherever the testing-machine is large enough they should 
be not less than 2-inch cubes, having 4 square inches of area, 
or larger if possible, as stone in large pieces has greater resistance 
per square inch, and thus the actual strength of the stone will be 
more nearly determined. 

The Wisconsin report divides the physical tests into two divi¬ 
sions: First, strength tests, comprising crushing strength, trans¬ 
verse strength—giving the modulus of rupture, and the coefficient 
of elasticity; second, durability tests, covering specific gravity, 


202 


ORDJN^R Y FOUNDS TJONS. 


porosity, weight of the stone per cubic foot, effect of extreme heat, 
effect of alternate freezing and thawing, action of carbonic-acid 
gas, and the action of sulphurous-acid lumes. 



The crushing strength has usually been considered all that is 
necessary, but the above report speaks of this test as follows: “It 
has been computed that the stone at the base of the Washington 
Monument, the highest structure in the world, sustains a maxi¬ 
mum pressure of 22,658 tons per square foot, or 314.6 pounds 


Fig. 123.—Testing-machine 


































LOCATION AND DESIGN OF PIERS. 


203 


per square inch. Certain contractors require a stone to withstand 
twenty times the pressure to which it will be subjected in the 
wall, while others only require ten times that pressure. Even 
if requiring a factor of safely of twenty, the strength required 
for a stone at the base of this monument would be only 6,292 
pounds per square inch. The pressure at the base of our tallest 
building can scarcely exceed one-half that at the base of the monu¬ 
ment, or 157.3 pounds per square inch. According to the above 
estimate, stone used in the tallest buildings does not require a 
compressive strength above 3,146 pounds per square inch. There 
is scarcely a building stone of importance in the country that 
does not give a higher test than this. Ordinary building stone 
has from two to ten times the maximum required crushing strength. 
A stone having a crushing strength of 5,000 pounds per square 
inch is sufficiently strong for any ordinary building.” So that 
it will be seen that very few stones will not be strong enough in 
this regard. 

The following tables, which are taken from the Washington 
Geological Survey, give a large number of tests which have been 
made on building stone in various parts of the country: 


TABLE II.—CRUSHING STRENGTH IN POUNDS PER SQUARE INCH, 
SPECIFIC GRAVITY, AND RATIO OF ABSORPTION OF BUILDING 
STONE. 


Location of Stone. 

Comparative 
Strength in 
Pounds per 
Square Inch. 

Specific 

Gravity. 

Ratio of 
Absorption. 

GRANITE. 


(i)*Montello, Wisconsin . 

43,973 

2.639 

.079 

( 1 ) Granite City, Wisconsin. 

25,000 

2.675 

•L 33 

(1) Berlin, Wisconsin. 

32,747 

2.643 

• i 43 

(1) Granite Heights, Wisconsin. 

16,723 

2.631 

. 180 

(2) East St. Cloud, Minnesota. 

28,000 

2.692 

2-59 

( 2 ) Sauk Rapids. 

21,500 

2.710 

. 190 

(2) Beaver Bay, Minnesota . 

20,750 

2.69 

. 140 

(3) Fourche Mountain, Arkansas . 

(3) Fourche Mountain, Arkansas . 

(3) Fourche Mountain, Arkansas . 

(4) Little Rock, Arkansas . 

(4) Little Rock, Arkansas . 

(4) Milbridge, Maine . 

29,000 

28,700 

21,500 

22,388 

G ,407 

i9,9G 

2.642 

2 • 635 

1-1673 


* See p. 206 for references. 
































204 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


TABLE II (CONTINUED). 


Location of Stone. 

Comparative 
Strength in 
Pounds per 
Square Inch. 

Specific 

Gravity. 

Ratio of 
Absorption. 

SANDSTONE. 



(2)*Hincklev, Minnesota. 

19,000 

2.470 

4.88 

(2) Dresbach, Minnesota. 

6,500 

2.380 

11.48 

(2) Jordan, Minnesota. 

(1) Ablemans, Wisconsin. 

(1) Albemans, Wisconsin. 

(1) Ablemans, Wisconsin. 

(1) Ablemans, Wisconsin. 

4 , 75 ° 

13,669 

11,030 

8,602 

10,056 

2.340 

12.69 

(1) Dunnville, Wisconsin. 

2,502 

2.601 

I 5 -I 30 

(1) Port Wing, Wisconsin. 

(1) Houghton, Wisconsin. 

(1) La Valle, Wisconsin. 

5,498 

4,549 

LV 350 

2.638 

10.330 

(1) Bayfield, Wisconsin. 

(5) Birdsboro, Pennsylvania. 

4,588 

11,448 

2.639 

4.760 

(5) Waltonville, Pennsylvania. 

(5) Waltonville, Pennsylvania. 

14,000 

12,730 

2 - 35 ° 

I-27 

(5) Lumberville, Pennsylvania. 

22,250 

2.660 


(5) Laurel Run, Pennsylvania. 

(5) White Haven, Pennsylvania. 

17,600 

29,252 

2.660 

1-900 

(5) Portland, Connecticut. 

12,580 

2 • 35 ° 

M 

1 

■fc. 

O 

(5) Middletown, Connecticut. 

6,250 

2.360 

O 

I 

H 

(5) E. Longmeadow, Massachusetts. 

12,330 

2.480 


(5) Medina, New Vork. 

(5) Marquette, Michigan. 

16,031 

6,150 

2.400 

W 

1 

Cn 

(6) St. Anthony, Indiana. 

3 ,ooo 


3/40 

(6) Riverside, Indiana. 

6,100 


1/25 

(6) Riverside, Indiana. 

(6) Worthy, Indiana. 

6,800 

6,825 


1/50 

(6) Berea, Ohio. 

(6) Hummelstown, Pennsylvania. 

11,213 

12,810 

2.110 

1/20 

(6) Gunnison, Colorado. 

5,250 

2.200 

.09 

(6) Cleveland, Ohio. 

6,800 

2.240 

1/37 

(6) N. Amherst, Ohio. 

5 , 45 ° 

2.140 

1/99 

(6) Angel Island, California. 

4,574 

2.730 

1/31 

(6) San Jose, California. 

(6) Bass Island, Wisconsin. 

2,400 

4,850 

2.640 

1/16 


* See p. 206 for references. 


The engineer should always make careful inquiries as to 
whether the manner of quarrying stone injures it in any way, as 
the use of explosives will very materially shatter many kinds of 
stone and practically ruin them for heavy construction work. 

Most all quarrying (Fig. 122) is now done by the use of drills 
or channeling-machines, so that damage from explosives is not 
so frequently found as formerly. 


















































LOCATION AND DESIGN OF PIERS. 


205 


The larger granite quarries use no machinery in quarrying 
the stone other than rock drills and hoisting-apparatus. Lewis 
holes are drilled close together in groups of two or three, the par¬ 
titions broken down, and when a series of these have been drilled 
around the piece to be blasted out, explosives are used to loosen 
the rock, and by this method the action is wedge-like, and the 
rock is not damaged. 

In marble-quarrying channeling-machines are used, which 
are moved back and forth on narrow tracks and cut vertical 
channels 5 or 6 feet or over in depth, and a little over an inch in 

TABLE in. 



Comparative 



Location of Stone. 

Strength in 
Pounds per 
Square Inch. 

Specific 

Gravity. 

Ratio of 
Absorption. 


(i)*Knowles, Wisconsin. 

(1) Bridgeport, "Wisconsin. . . 
(1) Bridgeport, Wisconsin. . . 
(1) Duck Creek, Wisconsin. . 

(1) Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. 
(1) Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. 

(1) Genesee, Wisconsin. 

(1) Genesee, Wisconsin. 

(1) Marblehead, Wisconsin . . 

(1) Lannon, Wisconsin. 

(1) Fountain City, Wisconsin 
(1) Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. . 
(1) Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. . 

(1) Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. . 

(2) Red Wing, Minnesota.. . . 
(2) Stillwater, Minnesota. . . . 

(1) Kasota, Minnesota. 

(2) Mantorville, Minnesota. . 

(2) Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

(7) Ellettsville, Indiana. 

(7) Ellettsville, Indiana. 

(7) Salem, Indiana. 

(7) Salem, Indiana. 

(7) Bloomington, Indiana. .. . 
(7) Bloomington, Indiana. .. . 
(7) Bloomington, Indiana. .. . 

(7) Romana, Indiana. 

(7) Bedford, Indiana. 

(7) Bedford, Indiana. 

(7) Bedford, Indiana. 

(7) Salem, Indiana. 


LIMESTONE. 


29,189 

2-793 

1.76 

10,112 

2.740 

5-49 

6,675 

2.740 

5-46 

23,783 

2.843 

.419 

3 L 957 

2.841 

.19 

39,983 

2.700 

.64 

36,731 

2-833 

1.10 

29,253 

2.829 

1-i 5 

42,787 

2.856 

•31 

3L93 * 1 2 * * * 6 7 

2.814 

1.32 

8,830 

2.804 

4-95 

19,111 

2.821 

2.29 

13,406 

23,744 

2.826 

2 53 

23,000 

2 • 75° 

2-95 

i°,75° 

2.590 

2.19 

18,500 

2.640 

2.51 

9,5°° 

2 • 650 

5-37 

21,750 

2.770 

2-36 

6,700 


1-31 

5,9oo 


1-41 

11,700 
6,900 

2.510 

i-31 

4,200 


1-14 

5,7oo 

2.460 

1-19 

8,000 


i-33 

7,000 

2.480 

i-39 

4,609 

14,000 

2.470 

1-23 

6,500 


1-24 

8,900 

2.510 

1-31 


* See p. 206 for references. 














































2 o6 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


TABLE III (CONTINUED). 


Location of Stone. 

Comparative 
Strength in 
Pounds per 
Square Inch. 

Specific 

Gravity. 

Ratio of 
Absorption. 

MARBLE. 




(1) Rutland, Vermont. 

(1) Rutland, Vermont. 

(1) Mountain, Vermont. 

(1) Sutherland Falls, Vermont. 

(1) DeKalb, New York. 

(1) DeKalb, New York. 

(1) DeKalb, New York. 

(1) DeKalb, New York. 

(1) Colton, California. 

(1) Canaan, Connecticut. 

(8) St. Joe, Arkansas. 

11,892 
13,864 
12,833 
16,156 

13-733 

10,478 

12,004 

13.772 

17.783 

5,812 

G ,835 

2.712 

0-34 

(8) St. Joe, Arkansas. 

10,447 

2.697 

0-33 

(8) St. Joe, Arkansas. 

11,265 

2.707 

0.25 

(8) Marble City, Arkansas. 

8,894 

2.691 

o -57 

(8) Marble Citv, Arkansas. 

10,381 

2.689 

0.49 

(8) Rhodes Mill, Arkansas. 

14,400 

2.7H 

0.29 

(8) St. Joe, Arkansas. 

6,728 

2.693 

o -37 

(8) St. Joe, Arkansas. 

6,935 

2.675 

0.56 

(8) Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. 

(8) Dorset, Vermont. 

i 3 , 7 oo 

7,612 

2 • 635 

0 

Cl 

CO 

(8) Cararra, Italy. 

12,156 

2.690 


(9) Georgia. 

(9) Georgia. 

10,000 

1 3 , 1 00 

2.763 


(9) Georgia. 

11,400 

2.717 


(9) Georgia. 

12,000 

2.707 


(9) Georgia. 

10,900 

2-734 


(9) Georgia. 

10,800 




(1) Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, Bulletin No. 4, Building and 
Ornamental Stones, pp. 309-403, by E. R. Buckley. 

(2) Geol. and Nat. Hist. Sur. of Minn., final report, Vol. I, pp. 196-200. 

(3) Ann. Rep. Ark. Geol. Survey, Vol. II, 1890, pp. 44 to 50, by J. F. Williams. 

(4) Tests of Metals, Government Rep., 1895, PP- 319-320. 

(5) Appendix Ann. Rep., Pa. State College, 1896, p. 30 (Brownstones). 

(6) Twentieth Ann. Rep., on the Geology and Natural Resources of Indiana, p. 323. 

(7) Twenty-first Ann. Rep., on the Geology and Natural Resources of Indiana, pp. 313- 

315- 

(8) Ann. Rep. Ark. Geol. Survey, Vol. IV, 1890, p. 210, by T. C. Hopkins. 

(9) Geological Survey of Georgia, Bulletin No. 1, p. 81. 

thickness. Some of these machines are so arranged that a channel 
is cut on each side at the same time. When these channels have 
been cut, holes are cut horizontally across the bed and the stone 
split loose by wedges. 

Sandstone-quarrying is carried on considerably by channeling- 
machines, although very many quarries are still operated by 
blasting out large blocks and cutting them to shape afterwards, 




















































LOCATION AND DESIGN OF PIERS. 


207 


although some damage may result to the stone from the force 
of the blasts. The method of working quarries is stated quite 
fully in the Washington Geological Survey as follows: 



“The quarrying of marbles, limestones, and some sandstones 
at the present time is done quite largely by the use of channeling- 
machines of some kind (Fig. 124), while, in the harder igneous 
rocks such as granite, explosives are quite largely used for break- 























20 8 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


ing the rock loose, after which the large masses are split and 
worked into sizes by hand. In the opening of a quarry in which 
channeling-machines are to be used, the usual thing to do is to 
remove the debris overlying the stone to be quarried and secure 
a comparatively level floor of the same size that it is desired to 
make the quarry. When this is done the channeling-machine 
is put to work and a series of channels the required depth and 
distance apart are cut, and one of the blocks loosened on the under 
side in some manner, usually by wedging, and then lifted out or 
it may be removed by blasting. After the first block is removed 
the others may be loosened on the under side either by gadding 
or by means of wedges. Then another layer is begun and re¬ 
moved in exactly the same manner, and in this way the quarry 
floor may be carried down almost any depth provided the stone 
continues. 

“ In some quarries what is known as the step or bench system 
is used and consists in having a ledge of varying width at the 
back wall each time instead of taking out an entire layer of the 
quarry floor. This will give to the back part of the quarry the 
appearance of a set of steps. If the quarry is to be worked after 
this plan the bar-channeler is probably the best one to purchase, 
as it is much more easily moved from bench to bench. In the 
case of quarries worked by hand, either one of the above plans 
may be followed. 

“While many machines have been invented for cutting and 
dressing stone, still the same slow hand processes that were in 
use hundreds of years ago are still quite largely used. Large 
masses of the stone are loosened by means of powder and then 
these are split into blocks of the required sizes by what is known 
as the plug-and-feather method. This method consists in drilling 
a series of holes about three-fourths of an inch in diameter and a 
few inches deep along a line where it is desired to split the stone. 
Into each one of these holes are placed two pieces of soft half-round 
iron called ‘feathers,’ and between these a steel wedge or ‘plug’ 
is placed. The quarryman then takes a hammer and moves 
along this line, striking alternately each one of these wedges until 


LOCATION AND DESIGN OF PIERS. 


209 


the stone splits and falls apart along this line. There is con¬ 
siderable knack in the splitting of various kinds of stone and it 
consists simply in being able to take advantage of the rift and 
grain of a stone, and it is surprising how readily some persons 
will work a stone into the desired shape, while others can hardly 
work it into any shape at all. 

“ In some cases stone is cut to the proper sizes in the quarry 
by means of channelers, steam-drills, and portable saws, but 
in most cases marbles, limestones, and sandstones are cut into 
the desired shapes after leaving the quarry and going to the mill. 
Usually the stone is taken out of the quarry in large blocks and 
then taken to the mill, where it is usually cut into the required 
dimensions by means of saws, and if it is to be carved or polished 
this is done here, and, in fact, the stone is finished ready for its 
place in the building. 

“ Most of the cutting to sizes is done by sawing (Fig. 125). 
This sawing is done principally by means of gang-saws which 
consist of a number of toothless blades of soft iron fastened in a 
frame in a horizontal position and this frame so arranged that 
it can be moved backward and forward continuously. The 
stone to be sawed is brought under these saws and the blades 
set for the required thickness of the stone and then the machine 
set in motion. The cutting is done principally by sand or some 
substitute for it which, along with water, is supplied to the saw- 
blades. The water softens the stone, aids in carrying the sand 
to the saw. The saw may be of almost any length and the frame 
may contain any number of blades. The blades are usually 
about inch in thickness and about 4 inches wide. In the latest 
patterns the frames are lowered automatically as the saws cut 
into the stone. 

“ The rate of cutting by these saws varies with the stone, being 
much faster in some kinds than in others, as, for instance, the 
rate for the Tenino sandstone is from 1 to 2 feet per hour, while 
in the serpentine, which is a much softer material, at the United 
States quarry the rate is not more than from 4 to 6 inches per 
hour. 


2 TO 


ORDINAR Y FOUND A 7 IONS. 



Stone Sawing-machine. 



































































































LOCATION AND DESIGN OF PIERS. 


2 11 


“ The kind of power used for driving these saws varies and may 
be steam, electricity, or water-power, and in Washington all three 
are used. Steam, however, is the one most commonly used, but 
is much more expensive than water-power. 

“ Machines of various kinds for planing and dressing marbles 
have been constructed and they are said to work very satisfactorily, 
producing a surface equal to a sand-rubbed finish and saving 
much labor and expense in the finishing of marbles. 

“ Up to the present time, however, nothing of this kind is being 
used in this State. 

“ Lathes of various kinds and sizes are in use in the mills for 
turning marbles and serpentines. The lathes are used for turning 
out columns of marble and vases and ornaments of various kinds 
from marbles and serpentines. These lathes are practically 
the same as those used for the turning of wood and iron. After 
the desired shape has been obtained and while the column or 
whatever it be is still in the lathe the polisher is brought into 
use and it is finished before it is removed from the lathe. 

“ For the rubbing of the stone smooth, preparatory to polishing, 
the most common contrivance is perhaps what is known as the 
rubbing-bed. This consists of a heavy cast-iron plate which 
revolves in a horizontal plane. The plate is revolved by means 
of a perpendicular shaft through the center, which is geared to 
the power, this gearing in some cases being above the bed, 
while in others it may be below. Above the revolving bed are 
a number of fixed arms extending from the center to the outside 
of the bed and just high enough above it so as not to touch it. 
The slabs and blocks of marble are placed on this rubbing-bed, 
and these arms prevent their revolving with it when it is put 
in motion. Onto this plate are then put sand or some other 
abrasive, and water. A large number of pieces may be placed 
on one bed at the same time and rubbed at much less expense 

than they could be by hand.” 

As to the general design of piers, very little further need be 
said than what has been given in the preceding chapter with 
reference to the cross-section that produces the least resistance in 


2 I 2 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


a stream, and the quotation from Morison as to the form of pier 
adopted in the various large bridges with which he was con¬ 
nected. 

After the loads to be carried by the pier and the weight of 
the pier itself have been fully determined, the size of the base of 
the pier can be easily determined so as to keep the pressure upon 
the foundation bed inside of proper limits. The unbalanced 
pressure, due to wind and current, must be taken account of, 
that from wind being calculated by the ordinary methods of 
moments, while the force of the current may be calculated from 
the discussion given in Weisbach’s “ Mechanics.” 

Should a particularly large base be required, it will be neces¬ 
sary to offset the courses of the pier by putting in several steps, 
and these offsets may be calculated by the ordinary formula for 
transverse loading of beams. Where the pressure on the founda¬ 
tion bed per square foot amounts to two tons, Baker gives the 
following coefficients by which to multiply the thickness of the 
masonry course to get the offset: for granite 1.5, for limestone 
and sandstone 1.3, and concrete in the proportion of 1, 3, and 5, 0.3. 
As this is the most usual unit pressure, this will be a sufficient 
guide in ordinary cases. In large piers where caissons and cribs 
are used, they are made of the proper size to properly distribute 
the bearing upon the foundation bed. 


CHAPTER XIV. 


CEMENT AND CONCRETE. 

The use of some cementing material in building construction 
has been practiced from the earliest times, but the real intelligent 
employment of cement may be said to date back only as far 
as the time of the Roman Empire, and Vitruvius in his writings 
explains fully the methods of its use and the quality of the materi¬ 
als that should be used in making mortar and concrete, although 
his ideas as to the cause of the cementing action, while describing 
the results that took place, were very far from the truth, as he had 
no conception of the chemical processes involved. 

The earlier kinds of cement were natural mixtures or deposits 
of rock which when put through the manufacturing process had 
the proper composition to form cement. The great trouble, 
however, with cement of this kind is the lack of uniformity in the 
composition of the rock itself, so that while one lot of cement 
might be first-class, another lot made from identically the same 
quarry might be far from good. 

The first real Portland cement that was ever manufactured, 
so far as known, was under a patent taken out by John Aspdin, 
of Leeds, England, in 1824, while the first Portland cement manu¬ 
factured in Germany was made near Stettin in 1852. The manu¬ 
facture of Portland cement was begun in the United States about 
1875, and at the present time there are extensive manufactories 
in practically every portion of the United States, producing 
cement in many cases better than the imported. Large amounts 
of natural cement are manufactured in the United States, and 

they are first-class for use in making mortar for masonry work, 

213 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


2 14 

in making concrete for concrete filling of rock-faced piers, for 
concrete that is used in foundation pits, and in any location where 
the concrete is not exposed to abrasion or the weather. But 
where a first class piece of work is desired and one that is exposed, 
nothing should be used in concrete but Portland cement. 

Natural deposits of chalk and clay must be found so that they 
will yield a product containing approximately 62.2 per cent, of 
lime, 28.2 per cent, of silica, and 9.6 per cent, of alumina, or 
about one-third of the alumina can be replaced by ferric oxide, 
giving a cement with a composition of 61.7 per cent, lime, 27.4 
per cent, of silica, 7.5 per cent, alumina, and 3.4 per cent, of 
ferric oxide. As a matter of fact, however, the European cements 
contain not only the above elements, but small cpiantities of mag¬ 
nesia, potash, soda, sulphuric acid, sand, carbonic acid, and water. 

The process of manufacture of Portland cement does not con¬ 
cern the engineer as a feature of the construction of foundations, 
so that the details will not be gone into here, but reference may 
be made to “Portland Cement,” by C. D. Jameson, M. Am. Soc. 
C. E. 

When the process of manufacture has been properly carried 
out, up to the point of grinding, it is necessary that it should be 
ground with the greatest of care, as upon this depends very largely 
its value as a cementing substance, and the finer it is ground the 
more quick-setting it will be—the usual fineness being so that not 
more than 5 per cent, will remain upon a sieve of 2,500 meshes per 
inch. In some factories after the cement is ground it is sifted to 
insure the output being of proper fineness, but as this is an extra 
expense and apt to cause carelessness among the employes, it is 
better to be sure that the machinery grinds it properly in the first 
instance. Nearly all the large manufactories now have storehouses 
of large capacity in which the cement is stored for some time 
before shipment, which very greatly improves the quality of the 
cement. One of the most prominent American brands was 
shipped out for some years without having been stored previous 
to packing, as the demand was so great as to make it necessary 
to ship immediately, but it was found that a considerable amount 


CEMENT AND CONCRETE. 


21 5 

of free lime was present and caused the cement to be so quick¬ 
setting as to be rejected on important work, so that the manufac¬ 
turers were compelled to build storehouses and pack it for ship¬ 
ment after it had been stored for some time. 

Many engineers require cement to be emptied out from the 
barrels or bags into a storehouse at the site of the work and become 
thoroughtly mixed and aged before use, but in this country i; is 
usually impracticable to do this, owing to the speed with which 
work is pushed through. The cement is packed for shipment 
in barrels, the shipping weight of which is practically 400 pounds 
gross. These barrels are lined with waterproof paper or keep 
the cement dry. It is very often packed in paper or burlap sacks 
containing from one-fourth to one-third of a barrel in each sack. 
This method of packing is all right if the cement is to be used soon 
after packing. 

For many years the English cements had such a reputation 
that they were more used than any other; but German manu¬ 
facturers, realizing that this prestige had caused the English to 
become somewhat careless, supplanted to a large extent the Eng¬ 
lish cements by simply guaranteeing their product, thus forcing 
the manufacturers of other countries to turn out a product of 
greater superiority. 

At the present time the methods of testing cements are so 
uniform that it is only necessary for the makers to furnish a 
cement that will stand the tests, to have any brand of Portland 
cement accepted on important work. One of the standard testing- 
machines is shown in Fig. 126. 

Probably the most used specification is that recommended by 
the Committee on the Testing of Cement of the American Society 
of Civil Engineers, and a very complete specification of this 
character is given in the appendix from the specifications for the 
Topeka Bridge constructed by Edwin Thacher, M. Am. Soc. C. E. 
But the same engineer has more recently prepared General Speci¬ 
fications for Concrete Steel Bridges, revising the Specifications for 
Cement, and they are quoted in full as being the most valuable 
specifications of this character published: 



ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS . 


216 


“All foundations shall be shown on plans, and conform to 
the dimensions marked thereon. 

“ Foundations on rock shall be prepared by removing all sand, 
mud, or other soft material, and by excavating the bed-rock in 
such manner as may be described or shown on drawings. 

“Foundations on hard-pan, gravel, gravel and clay, cemented 



Fig. 126.—Cement Testing-machine. 


sand, or other material intended to carry the load without piles, 
shall be excavated to the depth shown on plans. 

“Foundations on piles, when not otherwise described, shall be 
inclosed in a permanent coffer-dam or crib, and be excavated to 
the depths shown on plans, and the piles shall be driven after the 
excavations are made. The spaces between the piles shall be 
filled with concrete, and in case it is found necessary to lay the con¬ 
crete under water proper appliances must be used to insure its 
being deposited with as little injury as possible. 

“ The piles shall be oak, yellow pine, or other wood that will 
stand the blow of the hammer, straight, sound, and cut from 






CEMENT AND CONCRETE. 


217 

live timber; trimmed close, cut off square at the butt, and have 
all bark taken off. 

“The piles shall not be less than 12 inches nor more than 16 
inches in diameter at the large end, nor less than 10 inches in 
diameter at the small end, for piles having a length of 30 feet and 
under; for greater lengths the diameter of small end may be 
reduced 1 inch for each 10 feet of additional length down to a 
minimum of 7 inches. 

u The piles shall not be loaded with a weight greater than 
given by the following formula: 

L = 2wh -T- (Si- 1), 

in which Z, = safe load in pounds, w = weight of hammer in pounds, 
h = fall of hammer in feet, S = last penetration in inches. 

“ The number and arrangement of the piles for each founda¬ 
tion shall be shown on plans, and they shall be sawed off at the 
elevations shown. 

“ The following values shall be used in calculations: 

Modulus of elasticity of concrete. 1,400,000 lbs. 

Maximum compression per square inch on concrete. ^00 u 

Maximum shear per square inch on concrete. 100 “ 

Maximum tension “ “ “ “ “ . 50 “ 

The above to be exclusive of temperature stresses. 

“ The cement shall be a true Portland cement, made by cal¬ 
cining a proper mixture of calcarious and clayey earths; and if 
required the contractor shall furnish a certified statement of the 
chemical composition of the cement and the raw materials from 
which it is manufactured. 

“ The fineness of the cement shall be such that at least 99 per 
cent, will pass through a sieve of 50 meshes per lineal inch, at 
least 90 per cent, will pass through a sieve of 100 meshes per 
lineal inch, and at least 70 per cent, will pass through a sieve of 
200 meshes per lineal inch. 

“ Samples for testing may be taken from each and every barrel 
delivered unless otherwise specified. Tensile tests will be made 
on specimens prepared and maintained until tested at a tempera- 






ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


218 

lure of not less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Each specimen will 
have an area of one square inch at the breaking section, and after 
being allowed to harden in moist air for 24 hours will be immersed 
and maintained under water until tested. 

“The sand used in preparing the test specimens shall be clean, 
sharp, crushed quartz, retained on a sieve of 30 meshes per square 
inch, and passing through a sieve of 20 meshes per square inch. 

“ No more than 23 to 27 per cent, of water shall be used in 
preparing the test specimens of neat cement, and in the case of 
test specimens of one cement and three sand no more than n or 
12 per cent, of water by weight shall be used. 

“Specimens prepared from neat cement shall after seven days 
develop a tensile strength of not less than 450 pounds per square 
inch. Specimens prepared from a mixture of one part cement 
and three parts sand, parts by weight, shall after seven days 
develop a tensile strength of not less than 160 pounds per square 
inch, and not less than 220 pounds per square inch after twenty- 
eight days. Specimens prepared from a mixture of one part 
cement and three parts sand, parts by weight, and immersed 
after twenty-four hours in water maintained at 176 degrees Fahren¬ 
heit, shall not swell nor crack, and shall after seven days develop 
a tensile strength of not less than 160 pounds per square inch. 

“ Cement mixed neat with about 27 per cent, of water to form 
a stiff paste, shall after 30 minutes be appreciably indented by 
the end of a wire one-twelfth inch in diameter loaded to weigh 
one-quarter pound. Cement made into thin plates on glass plates 
shall not crack, scale nor warp under the following treatment: 
Three parts will be made and allowed to harden in moist air at 
from 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit; one of these will be subjected to 
water-vapor at 176 degrees Fahrenheit for three hours, after which 
it shall be immersed in hot water for forty-eight hours, another 
shall be placed in water at from 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and 
the third shall be left in moist air. 

“ All cement shall be kept housed and dry until wanted in the 
work. 

“The concrete shall be composed of clean hard broken stone, 


CEMENT AND CONCRETE. 


219 

or gravel with irregular surface, clean sharp sand, and cement, 
mixed in the proportions hereafter specified. Whenever the 
amount of work to be done is sufficient to justify it, approved 
mixing-machines shall be used. The ingredients shall be placed 
in the machine in a dry state, and in the volumes specified and 
be thoroughly mixed, after which clean water shall be added and 
the mixing continued until the wet mixture is thorough and the 
mass uniform. No more water shall be used than the concrete 
will bear without quaking in ramming. The mixing must be 
made as rapidly as possible and the batch deposited in the work 
without delay. 

“ If the mixing is done by hand, the cement and sand shall first 
be thoroughly mixed dry in the proportions specified. The stone 
previously drenched with water shall then be deposited on this 
mixture. Clean water shall be added and the mass be thoroughly 
mixed and turned over until each stone is covered with mortar, 
and the batch shall be deposited without delay, and be thoroughly 
rammed until all voids are filled. The grades of concrete to be 
used are as follows: For the arches between skew-backs—one part 
Portland cement, two parts sand, and four parts broken stone, or 
gravel, that will pass through a ij-inch ring. 

“For the foundations, abutments, piers, and spandrels—one 
part Portland cement, four parts sand, and eight parts broken stone, 
or gravel, that will pass through a 2-inch ring. 

“If concrete facing is used, it shall be composed of one part 
Portland cement, and wo and one-half parts sand, and shall have 
a thickness of at least 1 inch on all arch soffits, arch faces, abutments, 
piers, spandrels, or other exposed surfaces. 

“There must be no definite plane or suiface of demarkation 
between the facing and the concrete backing. The facing and 
backing must be deposited in the same layer, and be well rammed 
in place at the time same. If the arch faces, quoins, or other 
exposed surfaces are marked to represent masonry, such division 
marks shall be made by triangular strips 2 inches wide and 1 inch 
deep fastened to the casing in perfectly straight and parallel lines, 
and all projecting corners will be beveled to correspond. 


220 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


“ No plastering will be allowed on the exposed faces of the work, 
but the inside faces of the spandrel walls covered by the fill may be 
plastered with mortar having the same composition as specified 
for facing. 

“ All keystones, brackets, consoles, dentils, pedestals, hand- 
railing posts and panels, and other ornamental work when used, 
also curbs and gutters, shall be of the designs shown on plans, and 
be molded in suitable molds. The mortar for at least one inch 
thick shall consist of one part Portland cement and two and one- 
half parts sand, and when the size of the molding will admit, the 
interior may be composed of concrete of the same composition as 
specified for the arches. When pedestals, posts, or panels carry, 
lamp-posts, a 4-inch wrought-iron pipe shall be built into the con¬ 
crete from top to bottom, and at bottom shall be connected with 
a 3-inch pipe extending under the sidewalk and connected with 
gas-pipe or electric-wire conduit. The pipes shall have no sharp 
bends, all changes in direction being made by gentle curves. 

“ During warm and dry weather, all newly built concrete shall 
be well sprinkled with water for several days, or until it is 
well set. 

“ The volumes of cement, sand, and broken stone in all mix¬ 
tures of mortar or concrete used in the work shall be measured 
loose. 

“ In connecting concrete already set with new concrete the sur¬ 
face shall be cleaned and roughened, and mopped with a mortar 
composed of one part Portland cement and one part sand, to 
cement the parts together. 

“ The concrete for the arches shall be started simultaneously 
from both ends of the arch, and be built in longitudinal sections 
wide enough to inclose at least two steel ribs, and of sufficient 
width to constitute a day’s work. The concrete shall be deposited 
in layers, each layer being well rammed in place before the previ¬ 
ously deposited layer has had time to partially set. The work 
shall proceed continuously day and night if necessary to complete 
each longitudinal section. These sections while being built shall 
be held in place by substantial timber forms, normal to the center- 


CEMENT AND CONCRETE. 


221 


ing and parallel to each other, and these forms shall be removed 
when the section has set sufficiently to admit of it. The sections 
shall be connected as specified and also by steel clamps or rib 
connections built into the concrete.” 

The average requirements of the United States Government 
Engineers are that 95J per cent, shall pass through a 2,500-mesh 
sieve and 84 per cent, through a 10,000-mesh sieve. This require¬ 
ment is considerably lower than is called for by many of the cities 
in the United States, the average of nine cities taken for this pur¬ 
pose requiring 97 per cent, to pass through a 2,500-mesh sieve and 
89 per cent, through a 10,000-mesh sieve. The United States 
Government Engineers require the cement to test up to 402 
pounds per square inch for seven-day tests of neat cement, and 
up to 119 pounds for a seven-day test of 3 to 1 briquettes; while 
the same nine cities mentioned above show an average require¬ 
ment of 388 pounds per square inch for seven-day tests of 
neat cement, and 134 pounds for seven-day tests of 3 to 1 
briquettes. 

The proportion of concrete and the methods of depositing it 
have been fully covered in the previous chapter, but the practical 
use of cement makes it desirable to have tables of concrete mix¬ 
tures of various proportions, which give the amount of cement in 
barrels, the amount of sand in yards, and the amount of broken 
stone or gravel in yards, to use to make one yard of tamped con¬ 
crete. 

One of the first tables of this sort to be published, which had 
been checked by practice, was in Vol. 42 of the Transactions of 
the American Society of Civil Engineers, in a discussion by the 
author, of a paper by Geo. W. Rafter, M. Am. Soc. C. E., on 
The Theory of Concrete. More complete tables of this kind have 
been worked out from theory, experiment, and practice by 
Edwin Thacher, M. Am. Soc. C. E., and with his permission are 

reprinted here. 

The discussion by the author on the amount of material in 
different concretes is given in full, as it forms an interesting com¬ 
parison with the tables prepared by Thacher. The column 


222 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS . 


TABLE IV.—MATERIAL FOR CONCRETE. 


Concrete with “Hazelnut” Stone. 


Proportions of Required for i Cubic 
Mixture. Yard. 


Cem¬ 

ent. 

Sand. 

Stone. 

Cem¬ 

ent, 

Barrels 

Sand, 

Cubic 

Yards. 

Stone, 

Cubic 

Yards. 

i 

I 


2 

0 

2 

•57 

0 

39 

O 

78 

l 

I 


2 

5 

2 

.29 

O 

35 

O 

70 

I 

i 


3 

0 

2 

.06 

0 

3 i 

0 

94 

I 

I 


3 

5 

I 

.84 

O 

28 

0 

98 

i 

i 

5 

2 

5 

2 

•°5 

0 

47 

0 

•78 

I 

i 

5 

3 

0 

I 

.85 

O 

42 

O 

.84 

i 

i 

5 

3 

5 

I 

.72 

0 

39 

O 

• 9 1 

i 

i 

5 

4 

0 

I 

•57 

0 

36 

O 

.96 

I 

i 

5 

4 

5 

I 

•43 

0 

33 

0 

•98 

I 

2 

o 

3 

0 

I 

.70 

0 

52 

0 

•77 

i 

2 

o 

3 

5 

I 

•57 

0 

48 

0 

•83 

i 

2 

o 

4 

0 

I 

.46 

0 

44 

0 

.89 

T 

2 

o 

4 

5 

I 

• 3 6 

0 

42 

0 

•93 

i 

2 

o 

5 

0 

I 

.27 

0 

39 

0 

•97 

i 

2 

5 

3 

5 

I 

•45 

0 

55 

0 

•77 

I 

2 

5 

4 

0 

I 

•35 

O 

52 

0 

82 

i 

2 

5 

4 

5 

I 

.27 

0 

48 

0 

•87 

i 

2 

5 

5 

0 

I 

19 

O 

46 

0 

.91 

i 

2 

5 

5 

5 

I 

•!3 

0 

43 

0 

94 

i 

2 

5 

6 

0 

I 

•°7 

0 

4 i 

0 

97 

i 

3 

o 

4 

0 

I 

26 

0 

58 

O 

77 


3 

o 

4 

5 

I 

.18 

0 

54 

0 

81 

i 

3 

o 

5 

0 

I 

11 

0 

51 

0 

85 

i 

3 

o 

5 

5 

I 

.06 

0 

48 

0 

89 

i 

3 

o 

6 

0 

I 

.01 

0 

46 

0 

92 

i 

3 

o 

6 

5 

O 

.96 

O 

44 

0 

95 

i 

3 

•o 

7 

0 

O 

.91 

0 

42 

0 

97 

i 

3 

5 

5 

0 

I 

•05 

O 

56 

0 

80 

i 

3 

5 

5 

5 

I 

.00 

O 

53 

O 

84 

i 

3 

3 

6 

0 

O 

•95 

O 

5 ° 

0 

87 

i 

3 

5 

6 

5 

O 

.92 

O 

49 

O 

9 i 

i 

3 

5 

7 

0 

O 

.87 

0 

47 

0 

93 

i 

3 

5 

7 

5 

O 

.84 

O 

45 

O. 

96 

i 

3 

5 

8 

0 

O 

.80 

O. 

42 

0 

97 

i 

4 

o 

6 

0 

O 

.90 

0 

55 

0 

82 

i 

4 

o 

6 

5 

O 

.87 

0 

53 

0 

85 

i 

4 

o 

7 

0 

O 

•83 

O 

5 i 

0. 

89 

i 

4 

o 

7 

5 

O 

80 

0 

49 

0. 

91 

i 

4 

o 

8 

0 

O 

•77 

O 

47 

0. 

93 

i 

4 

o 

8 

5 

O 

•74 

0 

45 

0. 

95 

i 

4 

o 

9 

0 

O 

7 i 

0 

43 

0. 

97 

i 

5 

o 

9 

0 

O 

66 

0 

5 ° 

O. 

90 

i 

5 

o 

IO 

0 

O 

62 

O 

47 

O. 

95 

i 

6 

o 

11 

0 

O 

55 

O 

5 i 

O. 

93 

i 

6 

o 

12 

0 

O 

•52 

0 

48 

0 

95 

i 

7 

o 

13 

0 

O 

•47 

O 

5 ° 

0. 

93 

i 

7 

o 

14 

0 

O 

•45 

0 

48 

0. 

96 


Concrete with Stone 2.1" 

and Under. 

Proportions of 

Required for 1 

Cubic 

Mixture. 


Yard. 


Cpm- 



Cem- 

Sand, 

Stone, 


Sand. 

Stone. 

ent, 

Cubic 

Cubic 




Barrels 

Yards. 

Yards. 

I 

I 

2 . 0 

2.63 

0.40 

0.80 

I 

I 

2-5 

2-34 

0.36 

0.89 

I 

I 

3 -o 

2.10 

O .32 

0.96 

I 

I 

3-5 

1.88 

O .29 

I . CO 

I 

i -5 

2-5 

2.09 

0.48 

0.80 

I 

!-5 

3 -° 

1.90 

o -43 

0.87 

I 

i -5 

3-5 

1.74 

0.40 

°-93 

I 

i -5 

4.0 

1.61 

o -37 

0.98 

I 

!-5 

4-5 

1.46 

o -33 

I . CO 

I 

2.0 

3 -° 

1 • 73 

°- 53 

0.79 

I 

2.0 

3-5 

1 . 61 

0.49 

0.85 

I 

2.0 

4.0 

1 . 48 

o -45 

0.90 

I 

2.0 

4-5 

1.38 

0.42 

o -95 

I 

2.0 

5 -o 

1.29 

° - 39 

0.98 

I 

2-5 

3-5 

1.48 

0.56 

0.79 

I 

2-5 

4.0 

1.38 

°- 53 

0.84 

I 

2-5 

4-5 

1.29 

0.49 

0.88 

I 

2-5 

5 -° 

1 . 21 

0.46 

0.92 

I 

2-5 

5-5 


0.44 

0.96 

I 

2-5 

6.0 

1.07 

0.41 

0.98 

I 

3-0 

4.0 

1.28 

°- 58 

0.78 

I 

3 ° 

4-5 

1.20 

°- 55 

0.82 

I 

3 -o 

5 -o 

1.14 

0.52 

0.87 

I 

3 -o 

5-5 

1.07 

0.49 

0.90 

I 

3 -° 

6.0 

1.02 

0.47 

o -93 

I 

3 -o 

6 -5 

0.98 

0.44 

0.96 

I 

3 -o 

7.0 

0.92 

0.42 

0.98 

I 

3-5 

5 -° 

1.07 

°- 57 

0.82 

I 

3-5 

5-5 

1.02 

o -54 

0.85 

I 

3-5 

6.0 

0.97 

0.51 

0.89 

I 

3-5 

6 -5 

°-93 

0.49 

0.92 

I 

3-5 

7.0 

0.89 

0.47 

°-95 

I 

3-5 

7-5 

0 . 

o -45 

0.98 

I 

4.0 

6.0 

0.92 

0.56 

0.84 

I 

4.0 

6 -5 

0.88 

°-53 

0.87 

I 

4.0 

7.0 

0.84 

0.51 

0.90 

I 

4.0 

7-5 

0.81 

0.50 

°-93 

I 

4.0 

8.0 

0.78 

0.48 

°-95 

I 

4.0 

8-5 

0.76 

0.46 

0.98 

I 

5 -o 

9.0 

0.67 

0.52 

°-93 

I 

5 -o 

10 . 0 

0.63 

0.48 

0.96 

I 

6.0 

11 . 0 

0.56 

°. 52 

0.94 

I 

6.0 

12.0 

o -54 

0.49 

0.98 

I 

7.0 

13.0 

0.48 

0.51 

0.95 

I 

7.0 

14.0 

0.46 

0.49 

0.98 


















































CEMENT AND CONCRETE. 


223 


TABLE V.—MATERIAL FOR CONCRETE (CONTINUED). 


Concrete with 2^ Inch Stone. 


Concrete with Gravel f" and Under. 


Proportions of 
Mixture. 


Required for 1 Cubic 
Yard. 


Proportions of 
Mixture. 


Required for x Cubic 
Yard. 


Cem¬ 

ent. 

Sand. 

Stone. 

Cem¬ 

ent, 

Barrels 

Sand, 

Cubic 

Yards. 

Stone, 

Cubic 

Yards. 

Cem¬ 

ent. 

Sand. 

Grav¬ 

el. 

Cem¬ 

ent, 

Barrels 

Sand, 

Cubic 

Yards. 

Gravel. 
Cubic 
Y ards. 

I 

1 

2.0 

2.72 

0.41 

0.83 

I 

I 

2-5 

2 . IO 

0.32 

0.80 

I 

1 

2-5 

2.4I 

0-37 

0.92 

I 

I 

3-0 

1.89 

0.29 

0.86 

I 

1 

3 -° 

2.l6 

°- 33 

0.98 

I 

I 

3-5 

1 • 7 1 

0.26 

0.91 







I 

I 

4.0 

1. ss 

0.24 

0.94 

I 

i -5 

2-5 

2.l6 

0.49 

0.82 

I 

1-5 

3 -° 

v 1 sj 

1.71 

0-39 

0.78 

I 

i -5 

3 -o 

I . 96 

o -45 

0.89 

I 

i -5 

3-5 

i -57 

0.36 

0.83 

I 

i -5 

3-5 

1 • 79 

0.41 

0.96 

I 

1 • 5 

4.0 

1.46 

o -33 

0.88 

I 

i -5 

4.0 

1.64 

0.38 

I . 00 

I 

i -5 

4-5 

i -34 

0.3 1 

O.91 







I 

1 -5 

S .0 

1.24 

0.28 

0.94 

I 

2.0 

3 -o 

1.78 

0-54 

0.81 

I 

2.0 

3-5 

1.44 

0.44 

O.77 

I 

2.0 

3-5 

1.66 

0. so 

0.88 

I 

2.0 

4.0 

r -34 

0.41 

0.81 

I 

2.0 

4.0 

1 • 53 

0.47 

o -93 

I 

2.0 

4-5 

1.26 

0.38 

0.86 

I 

2.0 

4-5 

1 • 43 

o -43 

0.98 

I 

2.0 

5 -° 

1.17 

0.36 

0.89 







I 

2.0 

6.0 

1.03 

0.31 

0.94 

I 

2.5 

3-5 

1- 5 1 

0.58 

0.81 

I 

2-5 

4.0 

1.24 

0.47 

o -75 

l 

2 -5 

4.0 

1.42 

0-54 

0.87 

I 

2-5 

4-5 

1.16 

0.44 

0.80 

I 

2-5 

4-5 

i -33 

°- 5 1 

0.91 

I 

2-5 

5 -° 

1.10 

0.42 

0.83 

I 

2 • S 

5 -° 

1.26 

0.48 

0.96 

I 

2-5 

5-5 

1.03 

o -39 

0.86 

I 

2-5 

5-5 

1.18 

0.44 

0.99 

I 

2-5 

6.0 

0.98 

o -37 

0.89 







I 

2 • S 

7.0 

0.88 

o -33 

°-93 

I 

3 -° 

4.0 

1.32 

0.60 

0.80 

I 

3-0 

5 - ° 

1.03 

0-47 

0.78 

I 

3 -° 

4-5 

1.24 

0.57 

0.85 

I 

3 -o 

5-5 

0.97 

0-44 

0.81 

I 

3 -° 

5 - ° 

1.17 

0.54 

0.89 

I 

3 -o 

6.0 

0.92 

0.42 

0.84 

I 

3.0 

5-5 

1.11 

0.51 

o -93 

I 

3 -° 

6 -5 

0.88 

0.40 

0.87 

I 

3.0 

6.0 

1.06 

0.48 

0.97 

I 

3 -o 

7.0 

0.84 

0.38 

0.89 







I 

3 -o 

7-5 

0.80 

o -37 

0.91 







I 

3 ■ 0 

8.0 

0.76 

o -35 

0-93 

I 

3-5 

5 -° 

1.11 

o .59 

0.85 

I 

3-5 

6.0 

0.88 

0.46 

0.80 

I 

3-5 

5-5 

1.06 

0.56 

0.89 

I 

3-5 

6 -5 

0.83 

0.44 

0.82 

I 

3. s 

6.0 

1.00 

o -53 

0.92 

I 

3-5 

7.0 

0.80 

o -43 

0.85 

I 

3 - S 

6.5 

0.96 

0.51 

o -95 

I 

3-5 

7-5 

0.76 

0.41 

0.87 

I 

3. <; 

7.0 

0.91 

0.49 

0.98 

I 

3-5 

8.0 

0-73 

o -39 

0.89 







I 

3-5 

8-5 

0.71 

0.38 

0.91 







I 

3-5 

9.0 

0.68 

0.36 

0.92 

I 

4.0 

6.0 

i 

o -95 

0.58 

0.87 

I 

4.0 

7.0 

0.77 

0-47 

0.81 

1 

4.0 

6.5 

0.91 

o -55 

0.90 

I 

4.0 

7-5 

o -73 

0-44 

o 83 

I 

4.0 

7.0 

0.87 

o -53 

o -93 

I 

4.0 

8.0 

0.71 

o -43 

0.86 

I 

4.0 

7-5 

0.84 

0.51 

0.96 

I 

4.0 

8-5 

0.68 

0.42 

0.88 

I 

4.0 

8.0 

0.81 

0.49 

0.98 

I 

4.0 

9.0 

0.65 

0.40 

0.89 







I 

4.0 

9-5 

0.63 

0.38 

0.91 







I 

4.0 

10.0 

0.61 

o -37 

o -93 

1 

S • 3 

8.0 

0.74 

o -57 

0.91 

I 

5 -° 

10.0 

o -57 

0.43 

0.87 

I 

J 

5.0 

9.0 

0.70 

o -53 

0.96 

I 

5 -° 

12.0 

0.51 

0.38 

0.92 

I 

6.0 

9.0 

0.65 

o -59 

0.89 

I 

6.0 

12.0 

0.48 

0.44 

0.88 

I 

6.0 

10.0 

0.62 

0.56 

o -93 

I 

6.0 

114.0 

o -43 

0.40 

0.92 

I 

7 ■ 0 

11.0 

0-54 

0.51 

0.91 

I 

7.0 

14.0 

0.42 

0.44 

0.88 

I 

7.0 

12.0 

0.52 

o -55 

o -95 

I 

7.0 

16.0 

0.38 

0.40 

0.92 





























































































ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


224 

with stone having 0.4 voids agrees very closely with Thacher’s 
table for concrete with 2J" stone, the agreement being so close 
as to make the tables practically identical. 

“ This subject has impressed the speaker as being a very 
important one, for the reason that in figuring on work he has, as 
a rule, found that engineers and contractors know only approxi¬ 
mately the quantities of cement, sand and broken stone to order 
for a given number of yards of concrete of certain specified pro¬ 
portions. The most convenient way of determining these quan¬ 
tities is to prepare tables from which the amounts required for 
a yard of concrete of any proportion may be taken, using only 
such proportions as have the voids in the stone entirely or more 
than filled. 

“Many writers on this subject have assumed that every con¬ 
crete, no matter what the proportions may be, has simply a 
yard of broken stone, without regard to the fact that there is 
more or less mortar in different proportions. In making up a 
table of this sort the speaker used the proportions of mortar 
given in Baker’s “Masonry Construction,” but found that this 
did not agree with actual practice. These tables in “Masonry 
Construction” were made up from theoretical considerations, and 
it is understood that they are to be revised in a new edition. 
[This has since been done.] 

“The table was made up some years ago by comparison with 
actual cases, and has been found to give very satisfactory results 
in practice. The column for broken stone with 0.4 voids will 
represent closely ordinary broken limestone which chips up 
more than a harder stone and consequently has less voids; while 
the column with 0.5 voids represents trap rock, the break in 
which is more angular. It will be readily seen from the table 
for Portland cement concrete that certain proportions will not 
have the voids filled and should not be used. 

“ For example, with 1 to 3 mortar and with stone having 0.4 
voids all the concrete given will have the voids filled, or more 
than filled, while with 0.5 voids only the 1-3-4 (No. 7) will have 
the voids filled. The table is made up on the basis of shrinkage 


CEMENT AND CONCRETE. 


225 


under ramming of about 7 cubic feet, and 3.8 cubic feet of ce¬ 
ment to a barrel. 

“In a recent paper presented to the society, one of the mem¬ 
bers stated that concrete was not a fit material for piers of rail¬ 
way bridges, unless a pedestal block of stone was used on which 
to rest the masonry plates. The speaker would refer that mem¬ 
ber to the engineers of half a dozen large western roads who 
use concrete for piers, and allow the bed plates to rest directly 
upon the concrete. Concrete is certainly better than most stone, 
except granite, and probably 50 per cent, better than much of 
the stone commonly used.” 


TABLE VI.—PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE. 


Number. 

Propor¬ 

tions. 

Barrels 

Cement. 

Cubic Yards 
Sand. 

Stone, 

0.4 Voids. 

Stone, 

0.5 Voids. 

1. 

1-2-3 

1.77 

0.51 

0.87 

1.05 

2. 

1 - 2-34 

1.68 

O.49 

0.91 

1. 10 

3 . 

1-2-4 

i -59 

0.47 

o -95 

i-i5 

4. 

Hc^ 

1 

<N 

1 

M 

1.48 

0.44 

1.00 

1.20 

5 . 

1-2-5 

i -39 

O.42 

1.04 

1.26 

6. 

1 - 2-54 

i- 3 ° 

0.40 

1.08 

1.30 

7 . 

1-3-4 

O 

cc 

M 

0-57 

0.83 

1.00 

8. 

1 - 3-44 

I . 22 

0-54 

0.89 

1.06 

9 . 

1 - 3-5 

I. l6 

0.52 

0.92 

1.11 

10. 

1 - 3-54 

I . OQ 

o. 50 

0.97 

1.16 

11. 

1-3-6 

I . 04 

0.48 

i .00 

1.20 

12. 

1-4-6 

I . OO 

°-55 

0.91 

1.09 

13. 

1 - 4-64 

O . 96 

o -53 

0.94 

1 13 

14. 

1-4-7 

O . 92 

0.51 

0.97 

1 • T 7 

k . 

1—4—7 ^ 

0.88 

0.49 

1.00 

1.21 

16. 

1-4-8 

mi 

00 

6 

0.47 

1.03 

1.25 


About 34 cubic feet loose =1 cubic yard rammed. 

Labor = £ to 2 cubic yards per man per day. 

For machine mixing the new Ransome mixer, or the Smith 
mixer (Fig. 127) are considered by the author to be among the 
best for turning out thoroughly and uniformly mixed concrete. 

Examples of concrete construction carried out by the author 
are shown in Figs. 128, 129, 130 and 131. 













































226 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 



Fig. 127.—Smith Concrete-mixer. 

Copy oj Report oj the Operations oj the Engineering Department 
oj the District oj Columbia , under the direction oj Major 
Charles F. Powell, Corps oj Engineers, U. S. A., Engineer 
Commissioner oj District oj Columbia, year ending June 30 , 
1896. (Page 194.) 

TABLE VII.—TENSILE STRENGTH: 3 PARTS QUARTZ, 1 PART 

CEMENT. 



7 

Days 

I 

Month 

2 

Months 

3 

Months 

4 

Months 

5 

Months 

6 

Months 

I 2 

Months 

Atlas. 

3 21 

441 

441 

5 IQ 

519 

525 

538 

546 

Alsen. 

188 

3 ro 

290 

328 

385 

380 

390 

366 

Dyckerhol'f. 

164 

i 75 

192 

236 

257 

293 

298 

323 

Hanover. 

205 

244 

251 

277 

3 DI 

315 

3 1 5 

354 

Alpha. 


182 

3 10 

3°9 

3 10 

295 

327 

35 ° 

Hemmoor. 

159 

203 

286 

3 QI 

323 

329 

3 i 4 

347 

Giant. 

2 3° 

275 

275 

267 

296 

3 2 9 

325 

327 

Porta. 

181 

257 

3 °S 

3 i 9 

3 i 5 

322 

343 

329 

Egypt. 

159 

20c; 

255 

240 

285 

3 °i 

34 i 

394 

Henry. 

i 59 

188 

229 

277 

3 °° 

320 

3 J 9 

332 

Mannheimer. 

193 

226 

3 ° 6 

329 

335 

323 

343 

336 

Saylor’s. 

135 

i 5 6 

205 

203 

254 

277 

289 

279 




































r» 


Fig. 12S.—Puget Sound Navy Yard 













Fig. 129.—Knoxville Concrete Abutment. 
























Fig. 130.—Knoxville Parapets. 

















Fig. 131.—Knoxville Bridge Erection. 








CEMENT AND CONCRETE. 


231 


Summary oj cement tests jor tensile strength and fineness made 
by the Seattle City Engineer's Office to this date, March 10, 
1904. 

TABLE VIII— MIXTURE: 1 VOLUME OF CEMENT TO 1 VOLUME 

OF SAND. 


Brand. 

No. 

Bri¬ 

quettes. 

Tensile Strength. 

Fineness. 
On No. 100 
Sieve, 
10,000 
Meshes to 
Sq. Inch. 

8 

Days. 

1 

31 

Days. 

3 ' 6 

Months Months 

I 

Year. 

2 

Years. 

Alsen. 

6 

415 

480 

547 

560 

634 

664 

87% 

Condor. 

6 

3 X 9 

45 8 

555 

606 

641 

7°3 

87-5 

Dykerhoff. 

7 

443 

482 

5 61 

605 

691 


90 

Flying Cask. . . . 

12 

472 

580 

604 

. . . 

. . . 


90 

Fortification. . . . 

6 

309 

361 

477 

479 

. . . 


93 

Germania. 

6 

3°8 

412 

484 

5 IQ 

606 


92 

Golden Gate. . .. 

i 7 

297 

424 

50 

537 

. . . 


84.8 

Harcourt. 

6 

207 

300 

34 i 

366 

424 

466 

87 

Heidelberg. 

6 

153 

240 

284 

363 

393 

424 

88.5 

Hemmoor. 

6 

306 

391 

446 

5°4 

557 

... 

87 

Hercules. 

6 

i 75 

289 

354 

384 

448 

. . . 

85-3 

Josson. 

6 

259 

369 

425 

475 

53 ° 

584 

88 

K. B. & S. 

6 

273 

286 

424 

. . . 

. . . 


87-5 

Mannheimer. . . . 

6 

34 i 

401 

47 ° 

5 i 9 

5°7 

585 

S8 

Red Castle. 

6 

2 US 

261 

334 

402 

488 

526 

87 

Rudersdorf. 

6 

33 i 

42 5 

481 

545 

59 i 

.. . 

9 i 

Standard. 

18 

357 

428 

573 

587 

... 

.. . 

94-5 

Teutonia. 

5 

330 

400 

433 

475 

508 

... 

85 

Trowel. 

6 

178 

252 

348 

404 

475 

. . . 

85 

Utah. 

6 

320 

461 

475 

556 

592 

603 

85 

( 


























































CHAPTER XV. 


TIMBER PIERS AND TIMBER PRESERVATION. 

The construction of piers of piling and sawed timber is quite 
common throughout the Western states, and, owing to the cheap¬ 
ness with which they can be built, it is often possible to construct 
a bridge where, if permanent foundations had to be put in, the 
expense would be so great as to be prohibitive. Where the 
piles are driven in the ground outside the waterdine they will last 
from five to seven years, and where they are driven in fresh 
water they will last for a considerably longer period except that 
the tops of the piles will very often rot out, have to be cut off, 
and have blocking substituted. Where such piers are to be 
constructed in salt water the piling should be protected from 
the teredo by some process or other, preferably by creosoting, 
as that will insure against both rotting and the teredo. It is 
also advisable in piers constructed on land, or in fresh water, 
to protect the piles in some way, either by creosoting or by coating 
them with hot carbolineum avenarius. The abutment pier, 
shown in Figs. 132 and 133, was constructed on the line of the 
Puget Sound Electric Railway between Seattle and Tacoma, 
as the end pier to a 200-foot draw span, the bridge and founda¬ 
tions being constructed from plans prepared by the author. 
The bridge seats come directly over two piles, and these are 
closely flanked by two additional piles on each side, spaced 2 feet 
6 inches from the center line of the trusses each way, while four 
additional piles are driven in the center of the pier. The piles 
are capped crosswise with short i2"X i2 r '-caps, and on these 
are laid the longitudinal i2"X i2"-caps which carry the bridge 




















































































































































Fig. 133. —Duwamisii Draw, Puget Sound Electric Railway, 













TIMBER PIERS AND TIMBER PRESERVATION. 235 

seats. The piles are braced with 4 /r X ^"-diagonal braces boat- 
spiked to the piles at each intersection. The same method of 
construction is used for the wings, and the whole face of the 
pier and wings is planked up with 3"X i2"-planking spiked on, 
with two 8-inch boat-spikes in each plank at each pile. The 
piling was of Washington fir with the bark peeled off and treated 
with hot carbolineum avenarius. These piles were driven to 
a firm bearing. 

The timber was No. 1 merchantable Washington fir, free 
from sap, wind-shake, pitch seams or other imperfections that 
might impair its strength and durability. In addition to the 
planking on the face of the pier, to protect it, five-pile dolphins 
were driven, as shown, 10 feet from the center of the end piles of 
the pier proper, and wrapped together with wire cables. Care¬ 
fully constructed as these piers were, it is believed that their life 
will be from ten to twelve years at the least calculation. The 
piers, as well as the bridges, were calculated to carry train-loads 
consisting of Cooper’s E-27 Loading. The cost of the piling was 
seven cents per lineal foot delivered at the bridge site, to which 
should be added the cost of coating, while the cost of the timber 
was twelve dollars delivered at the bridge site. The cost of driving 
the piles was approximately four dollars each for driving and 
cutting off, and the cost of placing the timber was approximately 
four dollars per thousand feet board measure. Another pier on 
the same road is shown in Fig 136. 

In the construction of the Raging River bridge and trestle, 
on the line of the Northern Pacific Railroad, between Seattle and 
Snoqualmie Falls, it was necessary to cross the stream with a 
Howe truss span supported on timber towers or piers, a detail of 
which is shown in Fig. 134. The original trestle and bridge was 
left standing about thirteen years, or about three years longer 
than the life of the timber, and fell down during the passage of a 
log train. The fall was caused primarily by some logs falling off 
of the train and knocking out some of the batter posts of the 
trestle, after which the entire trestle collapsed, although it had 
outlived its usefulness owing to the age of the timber. This 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


236 

occurred previous to the acquisition of the road by the Northern 
Pacific Railway Company. The trestle (Fig. 135) was reconstruc¬ 
ted by the author in approximately thirty days’ working time 
from the starting of the work until the passage of trains, although 
the actual time of the entire completion of the work covered a 



Fig. 134. —Raging River Bridge Pier, Snoqualmie Falls Line. 


period of between six and seven weeks. All of the timber was 
still standing in the forests when the contract was taken, and 
right of way was given the log trains carrying this timber over the 
road, so that it was turned out with great rapidity, and the 800,000 
feet B.M. of timber that was used for the trestle and bridge was 
landed at the bridge site in a remarkably short space of time. 
The piers were carefully framed before erection was started on 

































































































Fig. 135. —Raging River Bridge, Northern Pacific Railway, 












238 ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 

them, by laying them out on the ground and framing the work 
complete down to the boring of the bolt holes. The plumb posts 
were braced together transversely with Howe truss bracing, con¬ 
sisting of timber diagonals formed of two 6" X8"-sticks in one 
direction and one stick S^Xio" in the other direction. The 
batter posts were braced to the plumb posts with 5 // Xi2 // and 
6"Xi2" girts, and 5"Xi2" diagonal braces. The plumb posts 


Fig. 136.—Pier of Georgetown Bridgf. 

and batter posts were each formed of two 9" Xi4"-sticks packed 
together. Additional batter posts 9"Xi2" ran to longitudinal 
girts at half the height of the pier. The truss-rods of the Howe 
truss bracing varied from 1 inch to i-J inches in size, while most 
of the bolts used for fastening the work together were 1 inch. 
The tower rested upon io"Xi4" mud-sills and 9 "Xi 6" main- 
sills with caps of the same size. The ends of all timbers were 
white-leaded, but none of it was painted or treated in any way. 
Such a pier as this should be good for from eight to ten years’ 
service for ordinary railroad traffic, although new work of this 











TIMBER PIERS AND TIMBER PRESERVATION . 239 

character, on even the Western railroads, at the present time is 
easily constructed of steel. 

The designing of timber trestles, which would cover piers of 
the character under discussion, is most fully treated in Bulletin 
No. 12 of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Timber Physics 
Sciics, the title of the Bulletin being “Economical Designing of 
Timber Trestle Bridges.” The treatise is the work of A. L. 
Johnson, C. E. 

The strength of bridge and trestle timbers has been fully 
treated in a report by a committee of the American International 
Association of Railway Superintendents of Bridges and Buildings 
on the “Strength of Bridge and Trestle Timbers.” 

The test data at hand and the summary of criticisms of 
leading authorities seem to indicate the general correctness of 
the following conclusions: 

U ( I ) Of all structural materials used for bridges and trestles, 
timber is the most variable as to the properties and strength of 
the different pieces classed as belonging to the same species; 
hence it is impossible to establish close and reliable limits for each 
species. 

“ (2) The various names applied to one and the same species 
in different parts of the country lead to great confusion in classify¬ 
ing or applying results of tests. 

“ (3) Variations in strength are generally directly propor¬ 
tional to the density or weight of timber. 

“ (4) As a rule, a reduction of moisture is accompanied by an 
increase in strength; in other words, seasoned lumber is stronger 
than green lumber. 

“ (5) Structures should be, in general, designed for the strength 
of green or moderately seasoned lumber of average quality and 
not for a high grade of well-seasoned material. 

“ (6) Age and use do not destroy the strength of timber unless 
decay or season checking takes place. 

“ (7) Timber, unlike materials of a more homogeneous nature, 
as iron and steel, has no well-defined limit of elasticity. As a 
rule, it can be strained very near to the breaking point without 


240 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


serious injury, which accounts for the continuous use of many 
timber structures with the material strained far beyond the usually 
accepted safe limits. On the other hand, sudden and frequently 
inexplicable failures of individual sticks at very low limits are 
liable to occur. 

“ (8) Knots, even when sound and tight, are one of the most 
objectionable features of timber, both for beams and struts. 
The full-size tests of every experimenter have demonstrated not 
only that beams break at knots, but that invariably timber struts 
will fail at a knot or owing to the proximity of a knot, by reducing 
the effective area of the stick and causing curly and cross-grained 
fibers, thus exploding the old practical view that sound and tight 
knots are not detrimental to timber in compression. 

“ (9) Excepting in top logs of a tree or very small and young 
timber, the heart-wood is, as a rule, not as strong as the material 
farther away from the heart. This becomes more generally 
apparent, in practice, in large sticks with considerable heart- 
wood cut from old trees in which the heart has begun to decay or 
been wind-shaken. Beams cut from such material frequently 
season check a'ong middle of beam and fail by longitudinal 
shearing. 

“ (10) Top logs are not as strong as butt logs, provided the 
latter have sound timber. 

“(11) The results of compression tests are more uniform and 
vary less for one species of timber than any other kind of test; 
hence, if only one kind of test can be made, it would seem that 
a compressive test will furnish the most reliable comparative 
results. 

“(12) Long timber columns generally fail by lateral deflec¬ 
tion or £ buckling ’ when the length exceeds the least cross-sectional 
dimension of the stick by 20; in other words, when the column 
is longer than 20 diameters. In practice the unit stress for all 
columns over 15 diameters should be reduced in accordance with 
the various rules and formulae established for long columns. 

“(13) Uneven end bearings and eccentric loading of columns 
produce more serious disturbances than are usually assumed. 


TIMBER PIERS AND TIMBER PRESERVATION . 241 

“ (14) The tests of full-size long compound columns, com¬ 
posed of several sticks bolted and fastened together at intervals, 
show essentially the same ultimate unit resistance for the compound 
column as each component stick would have i' considered as a 
column by itself. 

“ (15) More attention should be given in practice to the proper 
proportioning of bearing areas; in other words, the compressive 
bearing resistance of timber with and across grain, especially the 
latter, owing to the tendency of an excessive crushing stress across 
grain to indent the timber, thereby destroying the fiber and 
increasing the liability to speedy decay, especially when exposed 
to the weather and the continual working produced by moving 
loads. 

“The aim of your committee has been to examine the con¬ 
flicting test data at hand, attributing the proper degree of impor¬ 
tance to the various results and recommendations, and then to 
establish a set of units that can be accepted as fair average values, 
as far as known to-day, for the ordinary quality of each species 
of timber and corresponding to the usual conditions and sizes 
of timbers encountered in practice. The difficulties of executing 
such a task successfully cannot be overrated, owing to the meager¬ 
ness and frequently the indefiniteness of the available test data, 
and especially the great range of physical properties in different 
sticks of the same general species, not only due to the locality 
where it is grown, but also to the condition of the timber as regards 
the percentage of moisture, degree of seasoning, physical charac¬ 
teristics, grain, texture, proportion of hard and soft fibers, pre¬ 
sence of knots, etc., all of which affect the question of strength. 

“Your committee recommends, upon the basis of the test 
data at hand at the present time, the average units for the ultimate 
breaking stresses of the principal timbers used in bridge and 
trestle constructions shown in the accompanying table. 

“In addition to the units given in the table, attention should 
be called to the latest formulae for long timber columns, mentioned 
more particularly in the appendix to this report, which formulae 
are based upon the results of the more recent full-size timber- 


242 


ORDINAR Y FO UN DA TIONS. 


column tests, and hence should be considered more valuable 
than the older formulas derived from a limited number of small- 
size tests. These new formulae are Professor Burr’s, Appendix I; 
Professor Ely’s, Appendix J; Professor Stanwood’s, Appendix K; 
and A. L. Johnson’s, Appendix V; while C. Shaler Smith’s formu¬ 
lae will be better understood after examining the explanatory 
notes contained in Appendix L. (The formula recommended 
for use by the author is nearly that of Professor Burr, or 
l 

p = 6000—70-^, in which ultimate strength per square inch, 

/ = length of column in inches, and d = the least dimension of the 
column in inches. This is for Washington fir or similar timber, 

l l 

between the limits of 20^ and 60-, 

a a 

“Attention should be called to the necessity of examining the 
resistance of a beam to longitudinal shearing along the neutral 
axis, as beams under transverse loading frequently fail by longi¬ 
tudinal shearing in the place of transverse rupture. 

“In addition to the ultimate breaking unit stress the designer 
of a timber structure has to establish the safe allowable unit stress 
for the species of timber to be used. This will vary for each 
particular class of structures and individual conditions. The 
selection of the proper ‘factor of safety’ is largely a question of 
personal judgment and experience, and offers the best opportunity 
for the display of analytical and practical ability on the part of 
the designer. It is difficult to give specific rules. The following 
are some of the controlling questions to be considered: 

“ The class of structure, whether temporary or permanent, and 
the nature of the loading, whether dead or live. If live, then 
whether the application of the load is accompanied by severe 
dynamic shocks and pounding of the structure; whether the 
assumed loading for calculation is the absolute maximum, rarely 
to be applied in practice, or a possibility that may frequently 
take place. Prolonged heavy, steady loading, and also alternate 
tensile and compressive stresses in the same place, will call for 
lower averages. Information as to whether the assumed break- 



TIMBER PIERS AND TIMBER PRESERVATION. 


2 43 


ing stresses are based on full-size or small-size tests or only on 
interpolated values, averaged from tests of similar species of 
timber, is valuable in order to attribute the proper degree of 
importance to recommended average values. The class of timber 
to be used and its condition and quality. Finally, the particular 
kind of strain the stick is to be subjected to and its position in 
the structure with regard to its importance and the possible 
damage that might be caused by its failure. 

“ In order to present something definite on this subject, your 
committee presents the accompanying table, showing the aver¬ 
age safe allowable working unit stresses for the principal bridge 
and trestle timbers, prepared to meet the average conditions 
existing in railroad timber structures, the units being based upon 
the ultimate breaking unit stresses recommended by your com 


mittee and the fol owing factors of safety, viz: 

Tension with and across grain. io 

Compression with grain. 5 

Compression across grain. 4 

Transverse rupture, extreme fiber stress. 6 

Transverse rupture, modulus of elasticity. 2 

Shearing with and across grain. 4 


“ In conclusion, your committee desires to emphasize the im¬ 
portance and great value to the railroad companies of the country 
of the experimental work on the strength of American timbers 
being conducted by the Forestry Division of the United States 
Department of Agriculture, and to suggest that the American 
Association of Railway Superintendents of Bridges and Buildings 
indorse this view by official action and lend its aid in every way 
possible to encourage the vigorous continuance of this series of 
Government tests, which bids fair to become the most reliable 
and useful work on the subject of strength of American timbers 
ever undertaken. With additional and reliable information on 
this subject far-reaching economies in the designing of timber 
structures can be introduced, resulting not only in a gieat pecun¬ 
iary saving to the railroad companies, but also offering a partial 








244 


ORDiNAR Y h OUR DA TIONS. 



check to the enormous consumption of timber and the gradual 
diminution of our structural timber supply.” 

A very complete series of tests were made by Frank W. Hibbs, 
Naval Constructor, U. S. N., at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, 


Fio. 137. —Tensile Test, Douglas Fir. 

on the “ Comparative Tests of Yellow Pine and Puget Sound 
Fir.” This is fully published in a paper of the Pacific North¬ 
west Society of Engineers, to which the reader is referred, as 
it is impossible to quote even results here. Fig. 137 shows the 
method used for making the tensile tests, and Fig. 138 the method 
used for making the transverse tests. The conclusions drawn 
from these tests were as follows: 


: 












TIMBER PIERS AND TIMBER PERSERVATION. 245 

i-st. Strength. Douglas fir is generally equal to yellow pine, 
and superior to it in some essential particulars. 

2d. Elasticity. Douglas fir is decidedly more elastic than 
yellow pine. 



Fig. 138.—Transverse Test Douglas Fir. 

3d. Toughness. Douglas fir is far superior to yellow pine as 
regards toughness. 

4th. Wearing qualities. Yellow pine is superior to Douglas fir, 
especially when moisture is present. 

5th. Lasting qualities. Yellow pine is superior to Douglas fir, 
on account of the greater amount of pitch that it contains. 














TABLE IX. AVERAGE ULTIMATE BREAKING UNIT STRESSES IN POUNDS PER SQUARE INCH RECOM¬ 
MENDED BY THE COMMITTEE ON “STRENGTH OF BRIDGE TRESTLE TIMBERS,” AMERICAN ASSOCIA¬ 
TION OF RAILWAY SUPERINTENDENTS OF BRIDGES AND BUILDINGS, FIFTH ANNUAL CONVENTION 
NEW ORLEANS, OCTOBER, 1895. 


246 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


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TABLE X.—AVERAGE SAFE ALLOWABLE WORKING UNIT STRESSES IN POUNDS PER SQUARE INCH RECOM¬ 
MENDED BY THE COMMITTEE ON “STRENGTH OF BRIDGE AND TRESTLE TIMBERS,” AMERICAN ASSO¬ 
CIATION OF RAILWAY SUPERINTENDENTS OF BRIDGES AND BUILDINGS, FIFTH ANNUAL CONVENTION, 
NEW ORLEANS, OCTOBER, 1895. 


TIMBER PIERS AND TIMBER PRESERVATION. 


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248 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


6th. Weight. Douglas fir is 14 per cent, lighter than yellow 
pine. 

The main reason why timber is not used in many cases is on 
account of its short life. Upon exposure to the elements it 
decays quite rapidly, lasting on the average about ten years in 
structures, and when used for railroad ties only about seven 
years. If the surface is protected from the rain by painting this 
closes up the pores and causes heart rot from the moisture that 
is retained inside the stick of timber. For this reason paint 
should seldom be used upon a timber structure of any kind. 
Where timber is placed in salt water it is destroyed from other 
and quite different causes. The marine animals which are most 
destructive are the limnora, which eats off the surface of the 
timber near the water line, and the teredo, which eats out the 
interior. Untreated peeled piling driven in salt water become so 
badly eaten by the teredo in two or three months as to break off 
under almost no load at all, if this load is applied transversely. 
The view, Fig. 139, is of a section of piling which was eaten off 
in less than two years, it having been driven with the bark on. 
The bark is a good protection, and some of the methods of pro¬ 
tecting piling against the teredo are based upon the plan of pro¬ 
viding piles with an artificial bark formed of burlap, treated 
with asphaltum and wrapped about the piles with wires. The 
best protection, however, is creosoting, or the impregnating of 
piling or timber with creosote or the dead oil of coal tar. 

The amount of creosote used varies from 10 to 20 pounds 
per cubic foot, from 12 to 10 pounds being the ordinary amount 
specified. For the preservation of timber simply against rot, 10 
or 12 pounds is sufficient, while many engineers think it neces¬ 
sary to use from 16 to 20 pounds for protection against the teredo. 
Soft timber takes creosote readily, but some of the harder kinds, 
or those with hard fibers, will not take up the creosote so easily, 
so that it would seem advisable to specify the amount of penetra¬ 
tion the creosote should have from the surface of the wood in¬ 
wards instead of specifying the amount per cubic foot. 


TIMBER PIERS AND TIMBER PRESERVATION. 


249 


A penetration of five-eighths of an inch forms a satisfactory 
protection against the teredo. 

As the other methods of preserving timber are less used, they 



Fig. 139.—Section of Teredo-eaten Pile. 


will only be mentioned, and in case the engineer should find a 
plant available for preserving timber by one of the other methods 
its processes can readily be compared with those of creosoting. 
These methods are Kyanizing, or bichloride of mercury process; 
Burnettizing, or zinc chloride process; and Margaryizing, or 
sulphate of copper process. None of these, however, are so good 
as creosoting, inasmuch as the preserving material dissolves out 
of the timber and leaves it to decay. This feature is very strongly 




250 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


brought out in some experiments that have been made with 
Egyptian mummies, as when all of the embalming material has 
been extracted, the mummies at once decay rapidly. 

Creosoting plants are found in almost every section of the 
country, and a description of the methods followed at any one 
of these works practically covers the methods employed at others. 

The description given by the Norfolk Creosoting Company 
is quoted here in full: 

“The preservation of timber by the dead oil of coal-tar pro¬ 
cess, as carried on by all well-equipped cioesoting plants, con¬ 
sists of two distinct operations—the preparation of the wood, 
and its impregnation with the preservative. The preparation of 
the wood necessary for the proper reception of the preserving 
substances is the removal of all those portions of the tissue which 
are subject to fermentative action. This consists of the extrac¬ 
tion of the liquids and semi-liquids occupying the interfibrous 
spaces, and constituting the very immature portions of the wood, 
without softening the cement binding of the fibrillae, or bundles 
of cellulose tissue, forming the solid or fully matured part. Upon 
the successful accomplishment of this entirely depends the value 
of artificially preserved wood for structural purposes. If this 
step of the operation is conducted at too low a temperature, or 
for too short a time, the sap or liquid part nearest the surface 
will only be extracted, the consequence of which will be an 
insufficient space for receiving the preservative. If, on the other 
hand, the operation is carried on at too high a temperature, or 
for too long a time, the resinous portion of the bundles of fibrillae 
will be softened and the w T ood lose its elasticity in just the pro¬ 
portion that the coherence of the fibrillae is lessened. The tem¬ 
perature should never be less than ioo° C. or exceeding 130° C. 
Of the two possible methods for the removal of the undesirable 
portions of the timber, exposure to currents of dry air, and steam¬ 
ing under pressure with an after-drying in a vacuum, the latter 
is now the universal practice. While the first-named plan may 
seem the more rational, and the one least likely to modify injuri¬ 
ously the physical structure, such is not the case. Under proper 


TIMBER PIERS AND TIMBER PRESERVATION. 


2 S 1 


« 

manipulation, a more thorough desiccation, without harmful 
change of the organic structure, can be accomplished in twelve 
hours less by the latter process, than is ever possible with air 
drying which, under the most favorable circumstances, is a long- 
drawn-out operation, and cannot do more than extract the water 
from that portion of the sap which has not yet reached the semi¬ 
solid stage, thus leaving in the tissues of the wood a very consider¬ 
able amount of resinous matter which occupies space that should 
be ready to receive the creosote-oil. The consequence of this is 
a failure of the oil to reach many of the interhbrous passages, 
which are either left empty or are filled with the gelatinous part 
of the half-matured growth cells in which are to be found the 
conditions that make putrefaction possible. In order to remove 
the sap from wood, it is first necessary to vaporize it and then 
to bring about such external circumstances which shall allow 
outflow of all gaseous matter from the interior of the wood. In 
order to vaporize the sap it is necessary to break down the walls 
of the cells containing the liquid and semi-liquid substances. 
This is readily accomplished through the agency of heat applied 
through the medium of a moist steam-bath, at such a pressure 
as to keep the temperature of the wood, and its surrounding 
atmosphere, somewhat above the boiling-point of the sap. The 
maintenance of this condition for a few hours is found to be 
quite sufficient to break down the sap-cell tissue and to vaporize 
all those constituents that it is desirable to withdraw. This 
point having been reached, the steam-bath is discontinued; and 
the temperature being maintained at, or slightly above, the vapor¬ 
izing-point of the sap, the pressure of the atmosphere surround¬ 
ing the wood within the chamber is reduced below that of the 
interior of the wood. The result of this condition is an outflow 
of vapor and air, continuing until equilibrium is restored. This 
equilibrium is prevented by the use of an exhaust pump until 
the absence of aqueous vapor in the discharge from the pump 
indicates the completion of the operation. At this stage the wood- 
tissue is in a state very like that of a sponge cleared of hot water; 
every pore is gaping open and ready to receive the oil. 


252 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS . 


“ In the practice of the Norfolk Creosoting Company the most 
carefully dried lumber is steamed and subjected to the action of 
the heated ‘ vacuum ’ in order that there may be had that thorough 
and uniform penetration of the preserving liquid that is essential 
to the highest efficiency of the product. The timber having been 
thus prepared the creosote-oil is admitted to the chamber, which 
is still kept under the influence of the vacuum pump, at a tempera¬ 
ture somewhat above the boiling-point of the sap, at the pressure 
then existing in the chamber. As the hot oil envelops the wood 
and enters the interfibrous spaces, the aqueous vapor yet remain¬ 
ing in the wood, by reason of its less specific gravity, rises to the 
top of the containing chamber and is withdrawn by the pump. 
By the time that the chamber is entirely filled with oil, all the 
remaining moisture has escaped. The exhaust pump is stopped 
and, in order to facilitate the absorption of the oil by the wood, 
a pressure pump is set to work supplying oil to the chamber at 
such pressure as may be desired. This operation is continued 
until the requisite amount of oil has been put into the timber. 
The chamber is then opened and the timber withdrawn The 
apparatus is then ready for further use. 

“ The successful conduct of the operation above outlined exacts 
the most careful attention and skillful management, supplemented 
by adequate and suitable appliances. The wide divergence in 
the characteristics of timber; the varying amounts of sap, due 
to the lapse of time since, and the season in which the tree was 
felled; its possible subsequent immersion in water for a longer 
>or shorter time; the character of the soil and the conditions under 
wffiich the tree grew, whether in a dense forest or a comparatively 
open country, whether it is of a rapid, even growth, or a slow 
intermittent one, are all factors contributing to a more or less 
perfect product. To the experienced operator these conditions 
indicate, in each case, the proper course to be pursued. Failure 
to observe and to take them into consideration is to invite indiffer¬ 
ent, uncertain and in the end unsatisfactory results. Of equal 
importance is a proper understanding of the circumstances under 
which the finished product is to be used. Timber for piers, 


TIMBER PIERS AND TIMBER PRESERVATION. 


wharves and other structures in tropical waters demand proc 
esses and degrees of thoroughness of treatment that are unneces 



sarv in the harbors of more temperate climates, which are, in turn, 
more exacting than land and fresh-water construction. 

“ It is as true as it is unfortunate, that, in the past—perhaps 
at present—much creosoted work has fallen far below the reason¬ 
able expectation of the purchaser and user. As creosoting is 


Fig. 140.—Plant for Creosoting Timber. 










254 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


neither a secret or patented process, nor are its operations com¬ 
plex, a close and systematic inspection of materials used at the 



place of manufacture is all that is necessary for the buyer, and at 
the time that the creosoting is in progress.” 

The cost of creosoting varies of course with the size of piling 
and the size of timbers and with the location as well, but as a 
general average the cost of treating ordinary sized piling with io 


Fig. 141.—Creosoting Retorts. 









TIMBER PIERS AND TIMBER PRESERVATION. 


2 55 


pounds of creosote per cubic foot will add about twenty-five cents 
per lineal foot to the price of the piling, and the cost of creosoted 
trestle timbers will range from twenty-five dollars to thirty-five 
dollars per thousand feet B.M. in addition to the price of the 
timber. Views in a modern creosoting plant are shown in Figs. 
140 and 141, which plant is located at Eagle Harbor, Washington. 
The plant is owned by the Perfection Pile Preserving Co. of 
Seattle, and the retorts are built strong enough to make it possible 
to fill specifications requiring large percentages of creosote to be 
put in fir timber, which is much harder to treat properly than 
other kinds. 





































































































APPENDICES. 

SELECTIONS FROM SPECIFICATIONS. 


APPENDIX I. 

SPECIFICATIONS FOR COFFER-DAMS AND FOUNDA¬ 
TIONS, OHIO RIVER MOVABLE DAMS. 

Major W. H. Heuer, U. S. Engineer. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 

The site of Dam No. 2 is on the Ohio River, distant from Pittsburg, Pa., 
ioi miles, and adjacent on the right bank to the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne and 
Chicago Railway. It has Neville Island on the left bank, and is accessible 
by street cars from Pittsburg. 

The lock is to be located on the left bank of the Ohio River, immediately 
behind Merriman’s dyke. It will be in general dimensions the same as locks 
Nos. 1 and 6, viz., no feet wide and 600 feet long. 

SPECIAL DESCRIPTIONS. 

The river bed at No. 2 consists of gravel throughout, and the excavations 
will be made to a depth sufficient to insure a permanent and enduring founda¬ 
tion, which will ordinarily be 14 feet below the gate sill, but may be otherwise, 
as the engineer, in his judgment, may direct. 

The work will conform to the drawings exhibited, and to such others, 
in explanation of details or modifications of plans, as may be furnished from 
time to time during construction. 

Contractor to Furnish All Material and Work. —It is understood 
and agreed that the contractor, under his contract prices for work in place, 
is to furnish and pay for all materials, stone, cement, sand, earth, timber, 
material for coffer-dam and protection cribs, excavation, lock-filling and 

2 57 



258 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


discharging valves (set in masonry), flushing valves, anchor bolts, lock- 
gate tracks, and everything entering into or connected with either the per¬ 
manent or temporary construction, and he is also to supply and pay for all 
work, skilled and otherwise, required to prepare and place the materials, 
and complete the work according to the drawings and these specifications* 

Contract to Include. —The contract will cover the construction and 
completion of the foundation, masonry and timber work of the lock, includ¬ 
ing both land and river walls, the gate-recess walls, the foundations of the 
lock-gate tracks, the guiding walls above and below the lock, the pipe and 
flushing conduits, the drift chute, the foundations for the power-house and 
lock-keepers’ residence, and every such other permanent construction as 
shall be shown upon the drawings. It shall also include the clearing of the 
land necessary for the proper execution of the work embraced in this con¬ 
tract, all pumping and bailing, dredging and excavation, puddling and em¬ 
bankment, the construction of all coffer-dams, stone masonry, concrete and 
brick masonry, timber work and iron work, and all such other work which, 
in the judgment of the Engineer, is necessary and included in the proper 
completion of the contract. 

Tools, Machinery, Buildings, etc. —The contractor, without cost to 
the United States, shall furnish all appliances, dredges, pumps and pumping 
machinery, boats, tools, derricks, tramways, foot-walks, roads and landings, 
and all needful temporary buildings and shops. 

COFFER-DAMS. 

Sheeting. —The coffer-dam, about 1,500 feet in length, shall be built 
as shown generally by the drawings exhibited, and as directed by the Engineer* 
It shall be 14 feet high above the sill of the lock, and shall consist of two 
walls or rows of plank sheeting, spaced 12 feet apart in the clear, driven or 
set firmly from 1 to 2 feet into the river-bed, and supported laterally by hori¬ 
zontal longitudinal stringers, the latter being spaced at varying intervals, 
increasing in width from the bottom to the top, and to be sufficiently and 
firmly bolted together transversely with iron rods passing through the coffer¬ 
dam horizontally from the rows of stringers on the one side to the correspond¬ 
ing rows on the other, against which the vertical plank sheeting shall be 
securely spiked. 

Filling and Decking. —The interior, or space between the walls of 
sheeting, shall be filled with heavy dredged river-bed or other material not 
liable to wash, and to be covered over with a suitable decking of plank (to 
protect it from injury in case of being submerged by floods), all complete as 
shown on the drawings. 

Piling and Cribs to Protect. —-At the upper outer corner of the coffer¬ 
dam shall be placed a crib built of framing timber and filled with riprap 
stone; from the upper corner of the crib, at an angle of 45 0 with the axis 
of the current, a line of piling, spaced 5 feet apart, firmly bolted together 


APPENDIX /. 


2 59 


with waling-pieces, shall be driven to the shore to form a protection to the 
coffer-dam; also outside and along the coffer dam, from the upper outer 
corner to the lower corner, clusters of piles, firmly bound or bolted together, 
shall be driven at intervals of about 80 feet. The tops of all piling shall 
be sawed off to a uniform height of 2 feet above the coffer-dam. Protection 
cribs shall be placed at such other points along the coffer-dam as may be 
shown upon drawings. 

How Paid for —Bidders will state a price per lineal foot of coffer-dam 
completed. No payment will be made for any por ion thereof until the 
entire coffer-dam is completed. Drawings will be furnished, showing the 
general type of the coffer-dam and its manner of construction, and every 
detail necessary for intelligent bidding. Should any work on the outside 
of the coffer be necessary, such as gravel filling or riprapping, it shall be 
paid for at the price bid for gravel filing, riprapping, etc. If, owing to ihe 
nature of the river bed, it shall be found impossible to drive the plank sheeting 
to the required depth, then the contractor, after driving the sheeting as deep 
as possible without injury, and in lieu of driving it to its full depth, shall 
fill around the outside of the walls with the same material as is used in filling 
the coffer-dam, to the height of 4 feet above the surface of the river-bed, and 
for which no extra compensation will be allowed. 

Removal of. —The contractor will be required to remove the coffer¬ 
dam and its belongings at his own cost. The time and manner of the removal 
of the coffer-dam, or any part thereof, and the place to deposit the materials^ 
shall be prescribed by the Engineer. 

To Belong to the United States. —It is understood and agreed that 
the payments made for the coffer-dam, including the crib and pile protection, 
shall cover the entire cost thereof to the United States, and by virtue thereof 
they shall become the property of the United States. Ihe contractor, how¬ 
ever, must maintain the same and make all needed repairs to same during 
the existence of the contract, without expense to the United States. 

Deposit within the Coffer-dam. —Material washed or left in the 
space inclosed by the coffer-dam by freshets shall be removed by the con¬ 
tractor, as directed, at his price for common excavation, which price shall 
cover all necessary cleaning and scrubbing. No payment will be made, 
however, for removing material washed into the inclosure from the colier- 
dam itself or from any deposit made by the contractor on or above the works. 


MATERIAL AND WORKMANSHIP. 

Temporary Piling shall include all piles driven for the protection of the 
coffer-dam and “deadmen” for derricks. They shall be of good quality, 
round oak timber, not less than 12 inches diameter at the butt, and of length 

varying from 20 to 25 feet, and longer if necessary. 

Sheet Piling.— In excavating for foundations, should quicksand or 


260 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


fine sand carrying water be encountered, close sheet-piling will be required 
to be driven to whatever extent the Engineer may direct. 

Sheeting. —The sheeting shall include the walls and decking of the coffer¬ 
dam, including the stringers; also such shoring as may be directed by the 
Engineer to remain in the finished structure. It shall consist of the best 
quality of hemlock obtainable, and must be in all cases satisfactory to the 
Engineer in charge. 

Gravel or Earth Filling. —Gravel or earth filling will include all 
material used in filling the land-wall inclosure, back of the guiding walls, etc. 
It does not include any filling in the construction of the coffer-dam. 

Stone Filling shall include all stone placed in the protection cribs or 
any riprap stone ordered for the protection of the work. 

Cribwork shall be built of hemlock framing timber framed together in 
square bins and securely bolted together by iron drift-bolts. The interior of 
the cribs shall be filled with riprap stone, and should the Engineer deem it 
necessary such riprap stone shall be placed on the outside of the crib. The 
whole to be built as shown by the drawings. 

Framing Timber. —For all temporary cribwork, also the permanent 
crib at the head of the upper guiding wall, framing timber shall be used. 
No stick shall be less than io"Xio" in section. 

“Framing timber'’ is a commercial term for a class of timber hewn to 
various sizes. 

EXCAVATION. 

To Include. —It shall include the removal of all gravel or other material 
to the depth required for the lock and its upper and lower entrances, the gate 
recesses, Poiree-dam and gate-track foundations, for the foundations of all 
walls, and for all conduits or wells, and all such other material as may be 
found necessary in the judgment of the Engineer to be removed for founda¬ 
tions and otherwise in permanent construction. It will include all dredging 
and all material excavated of whatever nature, however removed, for founda¬ 
tions and for site of coffer-dam. 

Lines, Slopes, and Grades for. —All excavations shall conform to 
such lines, slopes, and grades as may be given by the Engineer, and anything 
taken out beyond such given limits will not be paid for by the United States. 

Material to be Deposited. —Excavated material is to be deposited as 
and where directed by the Engineer. It shall be deposited in such manner 
as not to interfere with present or proposed navigation. Material of any kind 
deposited by the contractor in absence of, or in disregard of, instructions, 
shall, if required by the Engineer, be removed by the contractor at his own 
cost. 

Shoring. —All excavation for foundation shall be securely shored and 
thus maintained until the foundation has been sufficiently advanced to dis¬ 
pense with the same, when it may remain or be removed at the discretion of 
the Engineer. 


APPENDIX /. 


261 


Dredges and Pumps. —The contractor will be required to employ, at 
the same time, not less than two suitable steam dredges at excavating and 
filling; and for pumping he must keep at least three good sufficient pumping 
outfits, with pumps, engines, and boats complete, in or always ready for opera¬ 
tion. The dredges must be equipped to do effective work to a depth of 28 
feet. 

FOUNDATIONS. 

Changes or Modifications of. —The character of the river-bed and of 
the proposed foundations for the different parts of the work is shown in 
general on the drawings and cross-sections exhibited, and it is undertsood 
that the United States shall have the power to make any changes in the 
plans of the foundations that may, in the judgment of the Engineer, be 
considered advisable after examinations made, as the excavations proceed 
within the coffer-dam after it is pumped out, and it is understood and agreed 
that the contractor shall have or make no claim against the United States 
on account of any such changes in or modifications of the plans of the foun¬ 
dations, or on account of any increase or decrease in the depth of same, 
under or over those referred to herein or shown on the drawings exhibited. 

MASONRY. 

Cement. —Cement will be of uniform quality, setting well both in air and 
water, and free from anything that will cause the mortar to swell, crack, or scale. 
It shall be put up in strong, sound barrels, well lined with paper so as to be 
reasonably protected from air and moisture. The average net weight of the 
barrels shall be not less than 265 pounds, unless expressly so stated in the pro¬ 
posal. Each barrel must be labeled with the name of the brand and of the 
manufacturer. 

In general, ten barrels of every one hundred will be tested. 

The cement must stand the following tests- Fineness—At least 85 per 
cent, must pass a sieve of 6,400 meshes to the inch. Setting—Cement must 
be moderately slow setting; it must not begin to set within fifteen minutes, as 
determined by Vicat needle 1/12 inch in diameter with 1/4 pound load, and 
it shall not bear the weight of one pound on wire 1/24 inch in diameter within 
thirty minutes, but must bear such weight within one hour and a half. Strength 

_The minimum tensile strength per square inch of briquettes of neat cement 

mixed with about 33 per cent, of water by weight, and exposed in air for one 
hour, and the remainder of 24 hours in water, shall be not less than 50 
pounds; with longer time, whether in air or water, there must be a decided 
increase of strength; it must also test to the satisfaction of the Engineer when 
mixed with sand. The tests for setting will be made at a temperature of air 
and water of about 75 0 Fahrenheit. All other tests will be made at a tem¬ 
perature above 6o° Fahrenheit. The cement will be subject to inspection at 
all times, and must be kept well housed. 


262 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


Sand. —The sand used must be clean, sharp, washed, river sand, satis¬ 
factory to the Engineer. 

Mortar. —To be composed generally of two parts of sand to one of 
cement; when required, and whenever thought necessary by the Engineer, 
it shall be made richer. It must be thoroughly mixed and used before it has 
begun to set. If required by the Engineer, the mortar beds will be protected 
from the sun. 

Pointing. —All face work is to be pointed, as fast as the work progresses, 
with stiff mortar, mixed one of sand to one of Portland cement, thoroughly 
hammered in and finished with proper tools; before the final acceptance of 
the work all face masonry which at that time does not appear properly pointed 
shall be repointed by the contractor to the satisfaction of the Engineer, with¬ 
out extra cost. 

Frost. —Masonry will not be executed during freezing weather, nor when, 
in the judgment of the Engineer or his agent, it is likely to freeze before the 
mortar shall set. To guard against injury from frost, all new and unfinished 
work shall be properly protected by the contractor at his own cost. 

Voids and Openings. —Due regard shall be had in the construction of 
all masonry walls to leave all necessary voids or openings for conduits or wells, 
or for such other purposes as may be required by the Engineer. 

Ashlar. —It shall comprise such part of the walls as is built of stone, with 
point-dressed face, and beds, and joints smoothly and squarely dressed. 

Quality of Stone. —All stone shall be perfectly sound, strong, hard, free 
from injurious seams, and in all respects satisfactory to the Engineer. Stone 
to be such as can be truly wrought to such lines and surfaces, whether curved 
or plain, as may be required. No stone shall be used which weighs less than 
135 pounds to the cubic foot. 

Samples of Stones. —Each bidder must deposit at this office, all charges 
prepaid, before the bids are opened, a 6-inch cubical block of the stone he 
proposes to furnish, and state the quarry from which it was obtained. The 
quality of the stone must be at least equal to that of the sample. The sample 
must be truly squared, and dressed on four sides; one side must be hammer- 
dressed, one side smooth-dressed and rubbed, and one side pitch-dressed. 
The other two sides are to be left with quarry face. 

Stone May be Rejected. —The United States reserves the right to reject 
any stone not deemed suitable, or which, during the execution of the con¬ 
tract, shall be found defective. The beds of the stone must be their natural 
quarry beds. No lewis or dog holes, letters, or marks of any kind will be 
allowed on any dressed face of stone, but each face shall have left on it a 
boss for lifting, to be removed by the contractor after the stone has been 
set. 

Dressing of Stone. —Stone must be accurately cut, square, and true, 
and the faces must be pitch-draughted and point-dressed to a plane with 
the draught, forming an approximately smooth surface. The beds must be 


APPENDIX I. 


263 


smoothly and squarely dressed, full length and width. The vertical joints 
must be dressed to a depth of not less than 18 inches from the face, and the 
allowance for joints must not exceed § inch. One-third of the stone in each 
course must be headers. All stones not accurately dressed will be rejected. 
All dressed stone must have the dimensions plainly marked on one end. 

Dimensions. —The cut-stone stretchers must be not less than 3 feet nor 
more than 5 feet long, and their width must be not less than ij times the 
height of the course to which they belong. The width of the headers must 
be not less than 1^ times their height, and their length must be at least double 
their breadth, unless otherwise ordered. The thickness of course includes 
the joint, which will be f inch. 

Laying Stone Masonry. —The faces of the walls shall be accurately 
laid to the lines indicated on the drawings, or as directed by the Engineer. 
All stones to be well laid to proper lines, in full beds of mortar, and settled 
in place with a wooden maul; the use of grout is prohibited. No dressing, 
except in special cases, and by permission of the Engineer, will be allowed 
on backing after it is laid in the wall. The bond of stone shall in no case 
be less than 9 inches. The walls will be laid in horizontal courses throughout, 
each course to be of uniform height through the wall. Heights and arrange¬ 
ments of courses to be determined by the Engineer. When laying masonry 
the site for the stone shall be thoroughly cleaned with a scrub-broom and 
moistened; and the stone shall always be cleaned and well moistened before 
being set. Not more than three unfinished courses of face stone will be 
permitted upon the wall at the same time without special permission from 
the Engineer in each case. Proper machinery must be used in handling 
the stone; face stone shall not be disfigured by use of plug or grabs. Any 
stone chipped or spalled shall be rejected. Stones having defects concealed 
by cement or otherwise will be rejected on that account alone. 

Coping. —The coping will be of the same class and quality of stone 
described in ashlar masonry. It will be carefully and truly cut to forms and 
dimensions given, from the best stone; it will be crandalled on all outer 
faces; the exposed edges of the coping to be rounded to a radius of 3 inches 
and chiseled smooth where required. Beds and vertical joints to be pointed 
true and full throughout and be laid with f-inch joints. 

The coping is to be doweled as required by the Engineer with round 
iron. The dowels to be furnished and placed by the contractor. The drill¬ 
ing for and placing of the dowels will be covered by the price for “Bolt Holes 
in Masonry.” The dowels will be set in Portland cement. 


RUBBLE STONE. 

Quality and Dimensions of. —Rubble stone must be sound, hard, 
and durable, free from seams, scale, earthy matter, and other defects. Rubble 
stone shall in general be not less than f of a cubic foot in size. It must be 


264 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


in fair shape for laying in the face of the walls without dressing. No spalls 
will be allowed. 

Laying. —The stone must be laid on their natural bed in full beds of 
hydraulic cement mortar, with all joints and voids well filled with mortar. 
Leveling up under stones with small chips or spalls will not be allowed. 

The stone shall be carefully selected for the outer face so as to have vertical 
joints and present a good face of broken rough masonry. 

CONCRETE. 

Composition of. —Concrete shall be composed of satisfactory cement 
and river gravel; the latter, should it be of an approved quality, shall be 
taken from the various excavations of the lock and its walls. This gravel 
generally has a sufficient volume of sand to fill all voids; should there be a 
deficiency of sand in any portion of the gravel the contractor will be required 
to supply said deficiency by good, sharp, washed, river sand. The quantity 
of cement to be used will generally be about 20 per cent, greater than the 
volume of voids in sand and gravel. 

Mixing and Placing of. —The concrete is to be well and rapidly mixed 
by machinery, as may be required by the Engineer, unless otherwise specified. 
It will be deposited in layers not more than 8 inches thick; wherever and 
whenever required, the layers will be thinner than 8 inches, and all thoroughly 
rammed by such process as the Engineer may approve. 

River Wall. —In the river wall of the lock the concrete shall be laid 
in courses of a thickness corresponding to the adjoining courses of ashlar 
masonry. It shall be filled in flush with the top of each course before the 
next course of ashlar above shall be laid. 

Before putting in the concrete of any course the bed and adjoining course 
of ashlar shall be thoroughly wetted so that no dry surface may come in con¬ 
tact with the fresh concrete, destroying its power of adhesion by absorbing 
its moisture. 

In order that the work once begun may progress without delay all cut 
stone needed for the ashlar facing shall be on the ground when the concrete 
foundation has been completed. 

TIMBER IN PERMANENT CONSTRUCTION. 

To Consist of all timber used in the timber facing of the lock walls 
and the guide walls; all timber cribbing in the gate-track and Poiree-dam 
foundations; the oak sheeting at the head of the guide walls; and such other 
timber in permanent construction as shall be shown upon the drawings. 

General Quality and Dimensions. —All timber must be first class, 
and any of inferior quality w'll be rejected. Sap-wood in any stick will 
cause its rejection. The timber must be free from black or rotten knots. 


APPENDIX I. 


265 


e edges, wind-shakes, dose, or other imperfections. Firm, sound knots, 
1 not too numerous, will not be considered defects. Timber must be full 
s ize true and out of wind, and when required must be sawed large enough 
to dress down to required dimensions. The timber will be inspected on 
arrival at the work, and if found to be detective will be rejected. 

Oak.—O ak timber must be taken from the best quality live white oak 
sawed timber. 

\\ hite Pine.— Shall consist of the best quality of clear white pine obtain¬ 
able. 

Hemlock— Shall be the best quality of hemlock obtainable. 

Framing, Assembling, and Painting.— All timber must be accurately 
framed, fitted, and assembled, according to detailed drawings and direc¬ 
tions. As the timber is framed it shall be painted about the ends and else¬ 
where as may be required to prevent checking. The paints for this will be 
furnished and applied by the contractor, and covered in his price for “Timber 
in Permanent Construction.” 


Timber Facing, Uprights, and Sheeting shall be constructed of oak, 
and shall consist of uprights spaced at intervals of 6 feet, center to center 
anchored to the concrete masonry by tee-head screw bolts as shown on draw- 
ings. To the uprights shall be bolted, with wrought-iron screw-bolts, oak 
sheeting 6 inches thick. 

Nosing Timber shall extend along the top of the guide wall, forming a 
cap to the uprights and securely bolted to them, as shown on the drawings. 
The top surface of the nosing shall be flush with the top of the concrete 
masonry wall. 

Oak Sheeting. —This refers to the sheeting on the upper faces of the 
protection crib for the upper guiding wall at the upper end thereof. It shall 
be spiked on and firmly held in place with iron bands or straps bolted to 
the framing timbers of the crib, if, in the judgment of the Engineer, this may 
be deemed necessary. 


SUPERVISION AND MEASUREMENT OF WORK. 


Inspection, Rejected Material, etc.— The works will be conducted 
under the direction of the local or resident Engineer, who shall have power 
to prescribe the order and manner of executing the same in all its parts; of 
inspecting and rejecting materials, work, and workmanship which, in his 
judgment, do not conform to the drawings that may be furnished from time 
to time, or to these specifications. And any material, work, or workman¬ 
ship so rejected by him shall be kept out of or removed from the finished 
work, and no estimate or payment shall be made until such material, work, 
or workmanship be so removed. 

When so required rejected material shall be piled up in sight near the 
works and kept there until the Engineer gives permission to have it removed. 

The United States will keep inspectors on the work who will receive 


266 


ORDiNAR Y FOUR DA TIONS. 


instructions from the resident Engineer. They will have power to object 
to any materials, work, or workmanship. Any material, work, or work¬ 
manship objected to by the inspectors shall be kept out of or removed from 
the finished work, unless in each particular case the objections of the inspector 
shall be overruled by the local or resident Engineer; and, unless the objection 
be so overruled, no estimate or payment shall be made until such material, 
work, or workmanship be so removed. 

The local or resident Engineer shall have power to overrule or rescind 
any or all objections or decisions of the inspector. 

The decision of the United States Engineer Officer in charge of the works 
shall be final and conclusive upon all matters relating to the work and upon 
all questions arising out of these specifications, and from his decision there 
shall be no appeal. 

Failure to Prosecute or Protect Works. —If at any time the con¬ 
tractor shall refuse or fail to prosecute the work or provide for carrying on 
the same as directed by the Engineer, or fail to properly protect any part 
of the work, permanent or temporary, the Engineer shall have power to 
employ men, to purchase or otherwise provide materials, tools, machinery, 
etc., and put the work in proper advancement or condition, and the entire 
-cost of so doing shall be deducted from payments to be made under this 
contract. 

Complete Work Required. —The contractor is not to take advantage 
of any omissions of details in drawings or specifications, or errors in either, 
but he will be required to do everything which may be necessary to carry 
out the contract in good faith, which contemplates everything complete, 
in good working order, of good material, with accurate workmanship, skill¬ 
fully fitted and properly connected and put together. Any point not clearly 
understood is to be referred to the Engineer for decision. 

Changes. —Should any changes in the details of the shape, arrangement, 
or fitting of the parts be deemed necessary or advisable in the progress of 
the work, they must be made by the contractor, and a fair allowance will 
be paid for any changes which, in the judgment of the Engineer in charge, 
materially increases the cost of the work. 

Measurement. —Measurement of all work and material shall be made 
in place, unless otherwise specified. 

Coffer-dam. —The price per lineal foot of coffer-dam shall include all 
material, lumber, iron, and gravel entering into its construction. A profile 
of the location will be furnished, showing a section of the river-bed over 
which the coffer-dam is located, so that the contractor may estimate the 
amount of each kind of material required. 

Piling. —Temporary piling shall be measured in lineal feet, and measure¬ 
ment shall be allowed for total length of piling used. 

Sheeting. —This will include all lumber used for temporary purposes, 
in shoring of excavations, or for forms necessary to sustain any concrete 


APPENDIX l 


267 


masonry until it has become sufficiently hardened. Sheeting required by 
the Engineer to remain in the finished structure shall be paid for at the con¬ 
tractors price per thousand feet B.M. All temporary sheeting not remain¬ 
ing in the finished structure shall be included in the contractor’s unit price 
for material in place, and no estimate will be made thereof by the Engineer. 
Coffer-dam sheeting will be included in the contractor’s price per lineal foot 
of coffer-dam. 

b illing. —Gravel filling will be measured in the fill, and will not include 
any filling placed in the coffer-dam as coffer-dam filling. 

Stone filling shall include all riprap work, either temporary or permanent. 

Excavation. —Excavation will be measured in excavation by cross- 
sections. 

Masonry. —All masonry, ashlar, rubble, brick, concrete, etc., will be 
measured by the cubic yard in place. Prices for masonry will include all 
required pointing. No payment will be allowed for voids or openings. 

Bolt Holes. —All holes drilled in rock or concrete or other masonry 
will be measured by the running foot as drilled. 

Timber in Permanent Construction. —Timber in permanent construc¬ 
tion will include all timber used in any part of the permanent construction; 
unless otherwise particularly specified, it will be classed under the following 
heads: 

Oak in Permanent Construction. 

Pine in Permanent Construction. 

Hemlock in Permanent Construction. 


APPENDIX II. 


EXTRACTS FROM TOPEKA (KANSAS) MELAN ARCH 

BRIDGE SPECIFICATIONS. 

By permission of Edwin Thacher, M. Am. Soc. C. E. 

PILING IN PERMANENT WORK. 

Piling and lumber for coffer-dams to be sound white oak, yellow pine, 
or other woods equally good for the purpose, the quality to be acceptable 
to the superintendent. The piles shall be straight-grained, trimmed close, 
and have all bark taken off, and shall be at least io inches in diameter at 
the small end and 14 inches in diameter at the butt when sawed off. The 
heads shall be cut off squarely at right angles to the axis of the pile, and all 
piles shall be fitted to and driven with a cast-iron head. The piles shall be 
driven with a hammer weighing not less than two thousand two hundred 
and fifty (2250) pounds, and until they do not move more than three-eighths 
(|) of an inch under a blow of the hammer falling twenty-five (25) feet. No 
pile shall be driven less than twenty-six (26) feet below low water, and if 
necessary to attain this minimum depth jets shall be used in addition to 
hammer. The number and arrangement of the piles for each foundation 
are shown on the plans, and must be carefully carried out by the contractor. 
The piles shall be cut off at an elevation of about six (6) inches below low 
water. A slight variation will be allowed, but no piles must be cut off at 
a higher elevation. Inspection of piling and lumber, except at bridge site, 
shall be at contractor’s expense. 

COFFER-DAMS. 

After the bearing piles have been driven, a permanent coffer-dam, of 
the dimensions marked on the plans, of Wakefield (or other equally satis¬ 
factory) sheet piling, shall be used around each foundation. The earth 
inside thereof shall be excavated to the depth shown on plans and replaced 
with concrete as hereinafter specified. During the placing of the concrete 
the water shall be kept out of the coffer-dams, unless the bottom is so porous 
that it is impracticable in the opinion of the superintendent to do so—in 

268 


APPENDIX n 


269 


which case some ot the concrete may be placed in position by means ox chutes, 
under the direction of the superintendent until the bottom is well calked, 
after which the water shall be pumped out and the remaining concrete placed 
in position. The contractor will be required to make the sides and ends 
of the coffer-dams watertight, and no leak through them will be considered 
sufficient cause to require any concrete to be placed by means of chutes. 

CENTERING. 

The contractor shall build an unyielding falsework, or centering, of the 
form and dimensions shown on the plans; particular care must be taken 
to drive the piles supporting it to a solid bearing. The estimated load upon 
each of these piles is twenty (20) tons. The contractor must, however, satisfy 
himself as to the load each pile will have to bear, and as to its supporting 
power. In case of any settlement the contractor shall take down and rebuild 
the centering and arch. The lagging shall be dressed on both edges to a 
uniform size, so that when laid it wall present a smooth surface, and this 
surface shall be built at the proper elevation to allow for settlement of arch, 
so that when the centering is struck the arch-ring will come to the elevations 
shown on plans. 

The top surface of the lagging shall be covered with W. Field’s Build¬ 
ing Paper of medium weight, known as Double Saturated Water-proof Oiled 
Sheathing Paper (or other equally good) to prevent the concrete from adher¬ 
ing thereto. No center shall be struck until at least twenty-eight (28) days 
after the completion of the arch. Great care shall be used in lowering the 
centers so as not to throw undue strains upon the arches, nor shall any center 
be struck before the adjoining arch has been completed for a sufficiently 
long time, in the opinion of the superintendent, to be uninjured thereby. 

Note.—F or the above reasons it is probable that the five centers will 
be in use at the same time. 

PORTLAND CEMENT. 

The Portland cement shall be a true Portland cement, made by calcin¬ 
ing a proper mixture of calcareous and clayey earths; and the contractor 
shall furnish one or more certified statements of the chemical composition of 
the cement and of the raw materials from which it is manufactured. Only 
one brand of Portland cement shall be used on the work, except with permis¬ 
sion cf the superintendent, and it shall in no case contain more than two (2) 
per cent, of magnesia in any form. 

The fineness of the cement shall be such that at least 98 per cent, shall 
pass through a standard brass cloth sieve of 74 meshes per linear inch, and 
at least 95 per cent, shall pass through a sieve of 100 meshes per linear inch. 

Samples for testing may be taken from each and every barrel delivered, 
as superintendent may direct. Tensile tests will be made on specimens 


270 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


prepared and maintained, until tested, at a temperature of not less than 
6o° Fahrenheit. Each specimen shall have an area of one square inch at 
the breaking section, and after being allowed to harden in moist air for twenty- 
four hours shall be immersed and retained under water until tested. 

The sand used in preparing the test specimens shall be clean, sharp, 
crushed quartz, retained on a sieve of 30 meshes per linear inch and passed 
through a sieve of 20 meshes per linear inch, and shall be furnished by con¬ 
tractor. 

No more than 23 to 27 per cent, of water by weight shall be used in pre¬ 
paring the test specimens of neat cement, and in making the test specimens 
one of cement to three of sand, no more than n or 12 per cent, of water 
by weight shall be used. 

Specimens prepared from neat cement shall after seven days develop a 
tensile strength not less than 400 pounds per square inch. Specimens pre¬ 
pared from a mixture of one part cement and three parts sand (parts by 
weight) shall after seven days develop a tensile strength of not less than 
140 pounds per square inch, and after twenty-eight days not less than 200 
pounds per square inch. Specimens prepared from a mixture of one part 
cement and three parts sand (parts by weight) and immersed, after twenty- 
four hours, in water to be maintained at 176° Fahrenheit, shall not swell 
nor crack, and shall after seven days develop a tensile strength of not less 
than 140 pounds per square inch. 

Cement mixed neat with about 27 per cent, of water, to form a stiff paste, 
shall, after 30 minutes, be appreciably indented by the end of a wire one- 
twelfth inch in diameter, loaded to weigh one-quarter pound. 

Cement made into thin cakes on glass plates shall not crack, scale, or 
warp under the following treatment- Three pats shall be made and allowed 
to harden in moist air at from 6o° to 70° Fahrenheit; one of these shall be 
subjected to water-vapor at 176° Fahrenheit for three hours, after which 
it shall be immersed in hot water for forty-eight hours; another shall be placed 
in water at from 6o° to 70° Fahrenheit, and the third shall be left in moist 
air. 

Samples of one-to-two mortar and of concrete shall be made and tested 
from time to time as directed by the superintendent. All cement shall be 
housed and kept dry till wanted in the work. 

Storage rooms and rooms and apparatus for the tests shall be furnished 
by the contractor, and all tests shall be made entirely at his expense, and 
under the direction and to the satisfaction of the superintendent. 

PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE. 

The concrete shall be composed of clean, hard, broken limestone (or 
gravel with irregular surfaces) and cement mortar in volumes as hereinafter 
described. The sand shall be clean, sharp, Kansas River sand, washed 
entirely free from earth and loam. If obtainable, a mixture of coarse and 


APPENDIX II. 


271 


fine sand shall be used. Approved mixing machines shall be used. These 
machines must be kept clean and no accumulations of old mortar shall be 
allowed to form in them. The ingredients shall be placed in the machine in 
a dry state and in the volumes specified and be thoroughly mixed, after which 
clean water shall be added and the mixing continued until the wet mixture is 
thorough and the mass uniform. No more water shall be used than the con¬ 
crete will bear without quaking in ramming. The mixing must be done as 
rapidly as possible, and the batch deposited in the work without delay, and 
before the cement begins to set. Stone must be entirely free from earth and 
earthy surfaces. Thin splints or leaves of stone, easily broken with fingers, 
will not be allowed to go into the work. The quality of stone and the crush¬ 
ing must be acceptable to the superintendent. 

The grades of concrete to be used are as follows (parts by volume): 

For the arches: One part Portland cement, two parts sand, and four parts 
broken stone (hazelnut size, from one-h If inch to one inch), except for the 
exposed faces and soffits of the arches, which shall have at least one inch in 
thickness of mortar composed of one part Portland cement and two parts sand. 

For the piers, abutments, spandrel and wing-walls: On the exposed sur¬ 
faces for at least one inch thick, one part Portland cement and two parts sand; 
for the next seven (7) inches, one part Portland cement, two parts sand, and 
four parts broken stone of hazelnut size. For the remaining portions: One 
part Portland cement, four parts sand, and eight parts broken stone of size to 
pass through a 3-inch ring, except such portions of the interior of the piers 
and abutments as are above the top of the cornice, or elevation 15.75 feet 
above low water, which shall be composed of one part Portland cement, three 
parts sand, and six parts broken stone which will pass through a 2§-inch ring. 

No plastering of surfaces will be allowed nor any practice that will develop 
planes or surfaces of demarcation other than those hereinafter described. 
Immediately after the removal of any forms or centers, sand and cement shall 
be sifted on the surfaces and the surfaces ubbed hard with a float as may be 
directed bv the superintendent. 

During warm and dry weather and whenever the superintendent shall 
direct, all newly built concrete shall be kept well shaded from the sun and well 
sprinkled with water at the surface for several days or until well set. 

There must be no definite plane or surface of demarcation between the 
facing and the concrete backing. The facing and the backing must be 
deposited in the same layer and well rammed in place at the same time. 

In connecting old concrete with new, in the planes hereafter described, 
the old concrete shall be cleaned and roughened and soaked with water, and 
at the points of contact a mortar composed of one part cement and two parts 
sand shall be used and shall be laid in the same manner as specified for lay¬ 
ing the facing. 


272 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS . 


NATURAL CEMENT CONCRETE. 

The concrete around piles, to take the place of the earth excavated from 
the coffer-dams, shall be composed of one part natural cement, equal to the 
best Fort Scott, Kas., cement, three parts sand, and six parts of broken stone 
of the size to pass through a 3-inch ring. This concrete may be mixed by hand 
on platforms adjoining the foundations and shoveled directly into the coffer¬ 
dams, care being taken to deposit it in uniform layers of about 6 inches each 
and to carefully ram each layer. 

PIERS, ABUTMENTS, AND SPANDRELS. 

All piers, abutments, spandrels, and wing-walls shall be built in timber 
forms. These forms shall be substantial and unyielding, of proper dimensions 
for the work intended and closely jointed, and all surfaces that come in con¬ 
tact with the concrete shall be smoothly dressed and well oiled with linseed oil 
to prevent the concrete from adhering to them. That portion next to the 
exposed faces of the work need not be oiled, but shall be covered with oiled 
paper, the same as that specified for the centers. 

Molds, to form molding and panels, smoothly finished and well oiled with 
linseed oil, shall be properly placed in the forms so that the finished work 
will appear as shown on the plans. Extreme care must be used to place them 
in proper position before placing any concrete or mortar in them. 

CONTINUOUS WORK. 

The following divisions shall constitute sections for continuous work, viz.: 
Each footing course of piers or abutments; each pier or abutment from foot¬ 
ing course to cornice; each pier or abutment from cornice to springing line of 
arch; each spandrel wall from geystone to pier or abutment; each pier or 
abutment spandrel wall; that portion of the piers or abutments above spring¬ 
ing line of arch shall be considered part of the longitudinal sections of the arch 
previously described. 

Each of the above sections shall be carried on continuously night and 
day if necessary; that is, each layer shall be well rammed in place before the 
previously deposited layer shall have time to partially set. 

Care shall be taken to make the joints (for expansion) in each spandrel 
wall over piers as indicated on the plans. 

CONCRETE IN COFFER-DAMS. 

The natural cement concrete in the coffer-dam shall extend from depths 
marked on plans to 1 foot below low water. Upon this concrete the footing 
courses of piers and abutments shall be founded. 

The sheet-piling of coffer-dams shall be cut off at least down to low-water 
mark, neatly and evenly, by the contractor before the completion of the work. 


APPENDIX III. 


EXTRACTS FROM KATTE’S MASONRY 
SPECIFICATIONS. 

By permission of Walter Katte, M. Am. Soc. C. E. 

Excavations will be classified under the following heads, viz.: Earth, 
hardpan, loose rock, solid rock, and excavation in water. 

Earth will include clay, sand, gravel, loam, decomposed rock and slate, 
stones and boudlers containing less than one cubic foot, and all other matters 
of an earthy nature, however compact, excepting only “hardpan,” as described 
below. 

Hardpan will consist of tough, indurated clay or cemented gravel which, 
in the opinion of the Engineer, requires blasting for its removal. 

Loose Rock. —All boulders and detached masses of rock measuring 
over one (i') cubic foot in bulk, and less than one (i) cubic yard; also all 
slate, shale, soft friable sandstone and soapstone, and all other materials 
excepting rock, solid ledge, and those described above; also stratified rock 
in layers of not exceeding eight (8") inches in thickness, when separated 
by strata of clay, and which, in the judgment of the Engineer, may be removed 
without blasting, although blasting may occasionally be resorted to. 

Solid Rock will include all rock found in ledges, or masses of more than 
one (i) cubic yard, which, in the judgment of the Engineer, may be best 
removed by blasting, with the exception of stratified rocks described under 
the head of Loose Rock. In rock excavations the “bottom” must in all 
cases be taken down truly to sub-grade; and when so ordered by the Engineer 
ditches must be formed at the foot of the slope. 

The contract price for excavations will apply to pits required for founda* 
tions of masonry when water is not encountered, and the price for 

Excavation in Water will only apply to foundation pits under water 
and deepening of channels in running water; it must cover all classes of 
material, and include drainage, bailing, pumping, and all materials and 
labor connected with such excavations, also the necessary dressing of the 
rock. 

Cement must be of the best quality of freshly burned and ground hydraulic 

273 


274 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


cement, and be equal in quality to the best brands of cement. 

It will be subject to test made by the Engineer or his appointed inspector, 
and must stand a proof tensile test of fifty (50) pounds per square inch of 
sectional area on specimens allowed a set of thirty (30) minutes in air and 
twenty-four (24) hours under water. 

Mortar will in all cases be made of one part in bulk of the best hydraulic 
cement to two parts in bulk of clean, sharp sand, well and thoroughly mixed 
together in a clean box of boards, before the addition of the water, and must 
be used immediately after being mixed. No mortar left overnight will, 
under any pretext, be allowed to be used. The sand and cement used will 
at all times be subject to inspection, test, acceptance, or rejection by the 
Engineer. 

Concrete. —Concrete shall be composed of fragments of hard, sound, 
and acceptable stone, broken to a size that will pass through a two (2") inch 
ring in any direction, thoroughly clean and free from mud, dust, dirt, or any 
earthy admixture whatever; mixed in the proportion of two (2) parts in 
bulk of the broken stone to one (1) part of fresh-made cement mortar of 
the quality herein described; and is to be quickly laid in sections and in 
layers not exceeding nine (9) inches in thickness, and to be thoroughly 
rammed until the mortar flushes to the surface; it shall be allowed at least 
twelve (12) hours to “set” before any work is laid on it. 

FOUNDATIONS. 

General Description. —Foundations for masonry shall be excavated 
to such depths as may be necessary to secure a solid bearing for the masonry, 
of which the Engineer shall be the judge. The materials excavated will be 
classified and paid for, as provided for in these specifications, under tne 
general head of Excavations; and in case of foundations in rock, the rock 
must be excavated to such depth and in such form as may be required by 
the Engineer, and must be dressed level to receive the foundation course. 

When a safe and solid foundation for masonry cannot be found at a 
reasonable depth (to be judged of by the Engineer), there will be prepared 
by the contractor such artificial foundations as the Engineer may direct. 
All materials taken from the excavations for foundations, if of proper quality, 
shall be deposited in the contiguous embankment; but any material unfit 
for such purpose shall be deposited outside the roadway, or in such place as 
the Engineer shall direct, and so that it shall not interfere with any drain or 
watercourse. 

Timber. —Timber foundations when required shall be such as the Engineer 
may by drawings or otherwise prescribe, and will be paid for by the one 
thousand feet, board measure. The price, covering cost of material, fram¬ 
ing, and putting in place, and all wrought- and cast-iron work ordered by 
the Engineer, will be paid for per pound, the price including cost of material, 
manufacture, and placing in the work. 


APPENDIX III. 


2 75 


Piling. All timber used in foundations or foundation piling shall be 
of young, sound, and thrifty white oak, yellow pine, or other timber equally 
good for the purpose, acceptable to the Engineer. Piles must be at least 
eight (8") inches in diameter at the small end and twelve (12") inches in 
diameter at the butt when sawn off; they must be perfectly straight and be 
trimmed close, and have the bark stripped off before they are driven. They 
must be driven into hard bottom until they do not move more than one-half 
inch under the blow of a hammer weighing two thousand (2,000) pounds, 
falling twenty-five (25') feet at the last blow. They must be driven vertically 
and at the regular distances apart from centers, transversely and longitudinally 
as required by the plans or directions of the Engineer; they must be cut off 
squarely at the butt and be well sharpened to a point, and when necessary, 
in the opinion of the Engineer, shall be shod with iron and the heads bound 
with iron hoops, of such dimensions as he may direct, which will be paid for 
the same as other iron work used in foundations. 

The necessary length of piles shall be ascertained by driving test piles 
in different parts of the localities in which they are to be used; and in case 
a pile shall not prove long enough to reach “hard bottom’’ it shall be sawed 
off square, and a hole two (2") inches in diameter be bored into its head 
twelve (12") inches deep; into this hole a circular white-oak trenail twenty- 
three (23") inches in length shall be well driven, and another pile similarly 
squared and bored, and of as large a diameter at the small end as can be 
procured, shall be placed upon the lower pile, brought to its proper position, 
and driven as before directed. All piles, when thus driven to the required 
depth, are to be cut off truly square and horizontal at the proper height 
given by the Engineer, and only the actual number of lineal feet of the piles 
left for use in the foundations after being sawn off will be paid for. 

Coffer-dams. —Where coffer-dams are, in the opinion of the Engineer, 
required for foundations the prices provided in the c ntract for timber, piles, 
and iron in foundations will be allowed for the material nd work on same, 
which is understood as covering all risks from high water or otherwise, drain¬ 
ing, bailing, pumping, and all materials connected with the coffer-dams. 
Sheet-piling will be classed as plank in foundations, and will be paid for 
per one thousand (1,000') feet, board measure, if left in the ground. 

TIMBER. 

All timber must be sound, straight-grained, and free from sap, loose or 
rotten knots, wind-shakes, or any other defect that would impair its strength 
or durability; it must be sawed (or hewed) perfectly straight and to exact 
dimensions, with full corners and square edges; all framing must be done 
in a thoroughly workmanlike manner, and both material and workmanship 
will be subject to the inspection and acceptance of the Engineer. 


APPENDIX IV. 


SPECIFICATIONS FOR STEEL COFFER-DAM. 

Design. —The shell shall be made of elliptical shape for ordinary piers 
and circular for pivot piers. It shall be made not less than four feet larger 
than footing of pier in plan, to allow for variation in position during sinking. 

The plates used shall be as large as can be handled with ease in the shop, 
during shipment, and during erection. 

The splices may be either lap or butt joints, provided a good tight job will 
result, and the rivets must be spaced according to boiler-maker’s rules. 

The joint may be made tight by calking or by the use of a calking strip, but 
in either event the result must be guaranteed. 

The shell must be stiffened by horizontal stiffening angles, girders, or 
trussing, to resist deformation during the placing and to resist both the quies¬ 
cent and a maximum unbalanced earth or water pressure, or a wind pressure. 

The bottom plates shall be re-enforced with narrow plates inside and 
outside, to form a wedge-shaped cutting edge; and when there is rock or 
hard bottom, the plates shall be cut to conform to its contour as nearly as 
possible. 

The top shall be properly stiffened, and if necessary provided with con¬ 
nection holes for additional sections. 

The factor for safety shall in no case be less than four, and in case the 
shell will be subject to shock, not less than six. 

No metal of a less thickness than \ inch shall be used for temporary work, 
nor less than f inch for permanent work in fresh water or I inch in salt water. 

Material. —The entire shell shall be constructed of the grade of steel 
known as soft medium, except rivets, which shall be of bridge quality of iron. 

The steel may be made either by the Bessemer or open-hearth process, 
and the phosphorus shall never exceed 0.08 per cent. 

Soft medium steel shall have an ultimate strength of from 55,000 to 65,000 
pounds per square inch, as determined from standard test pieces; an elastic 
limit of not less than one-half the ultimate strength; an elongation of not less 
than 25 per cent, in 8 inches; and a reduction of area at fracture of not less 
than 50 per cent. 


276 


APPENDIX lV r 


277 

Samples to bend cold 180° to a diameter equal to the thickness of the 
sample, without crack or flaw on the outside of the bent portion. 

Erection. —The erection must be done in a first-class manner, and all 
rivets must have full heads. The shell shall be placed in position within one- 
half the distance allowed for error in the design of the coffer-dam. Only a 
reasonable variation will be allowed for difference in level. 

Painting. —All the metal work shall be thoroughly cleaned of rust or scale 
at the shops and coated thoroughly with hot asphaltum. 

Before erection, in the field, it shall be given a second coating of hot aspha 

turn. 

Sealing. —When in position on the bottom, if the coffer-dam has not been 
sunk through impervious strata, it shall be sealed by concreting around the 
circumference inside with concrete passed through a tube. 

Removal. —Should the coffer-dam not form a part of the permanent 
foundation it shall be taken apart, at the joints designed for the purpose, and 
carefully removed in such a manner as not to injure the foundation, and so 
as to be used again if required. 


APPENDIX V. 


SPECIFICATIONS FOR CEMENT SUBMITTED TO THE 
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING MATERIALS. 

Engineering News, June 30, 1904. 

In our report last week of the annual meeting of the American Society 
for Testing Materials we stated that the Committee on Cement had submitted 
a report containing a recommended specification for natural and Portland 
cements, which specification was approved by the meeting and will now be 
voted on by the society at large, through letter-ballot. This specification is 
herewith presented in full. Its importance arises mainly from the fact that 
this society aims to produce specifications which shall be, as nearly as pos¬ 
sible, standards for this country. The committees of the society are care¬ 
fully selected from the most prominent representatives of the interests con¬ 
cerned and are intended to give equal hearing to manufacturer and con¬ 
sumer. The Committee on Cement was composed of thirty-one members, 
as follows: 

George F. Swain, Professor of Civil Engineering, Mass. Inst, of Tech¬ 
nology, Boston, Mass. (Chairman); George S. Webster, Chief Engineer, 
Bureau of Surveys, Department of Public Works, Philadelphia (Vice-Chair¬ 
man); Richard L. Humphrey, Consulting Engineer and Chemist, Harrison 
Building, Philadelphia, Pa. (Secretary); Booth, Garrett & Blair, Engineers 
and Chemists, 406 Locust St., Philadelphia, Pa.; T. J. Brady, President, 
Coplay Cement Manufacturing Co., Coplay, Pa.; C. W. Boynton, Inspector 
of Cements, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co., Wheeling, W. Va.; Spencer 
Cosby, Major, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., War Department, Washington, 
D. C.; Allan W. Dow, Inspector of Asphalts and Cement for the District of 
Columbia, Washington, D. C.; L. Henry Dumary, President, Helderberg 
Cement Co., Albany, N. Y.; A. V. Gerstell, General Manager, Alpha Port¬ 
land Cement Co., Easton, Pa.; Edward H. Hagar, Manager, Cement De¬ 
partment, Illinois Steel Co., Chicago, Ill.; Wm. H. Harding, President, 
Bonneville Portland Cement, Land Title Bldg., Philadelphia; Lathbury 
& Spackman, Engineers and Chemists, 1619 Filbert St., Philadelphia; 
Robert W. Lesley, President, American Cement Co., 22 So. 15th St., Phila- 

273 


APPENDIX V. 


279 

delphia, Pa.; F. H. Lewis, Manager, Virginia Portland Cement Co., Ford- 
wick, Va.; John B. Lohar, President, Vulcanite Portland Cement, Land 
Title Bldg., Philadelphia, Pa.; Andreas Lundteigen, Assistant Manager, 
Peerless Portland Cement Co., Union City, Michigan; W. W. Maclay, 
President, Glens Falls Portland Cement Co., Glens Falls, N. Y.; Charles 
A. Matcham, Manager, Lehigh Portland Cement Co., Allentown, Pa.; 
Charles F. McKenna, Consulting Chemist, Laboratories, 221 Pearl St., 
New York; Spencer B. Newberry, Manager, Sandusky Portland Cement 
Co., Sandusky, Ohio; F. H. Bainbridge, Assistant Engineer of Bridges, 
Illinois Central Railroad Co., Chicago, Ill.; J. Madison Porter, Professor 
of Civil Engineering, Lafayette College, Easton, Pa.; Joseph T. Richards, 
Chief Engineer, Maintenance of Way, Pennsylvania Railroad Co., Eroad 
St. Sta., Philadelphia, Pa.; Clifford Richardson, Director, New York Test¬ 
ing Laboratory, Long Island City, New York; Louis C. Sabin, Asst. Engi¬ 
neer, United States Engineer Office, Detroit, Michigan; Harry J. Seaman, 
Superintendent, Atlas Cement Co., Northampton, Pa.; S. S. Voorhees, 
Engineer of Tests, Supervising Architect’s Office, Treasury Department, 
Washington, D. C.; Olaf Hoff, Engineer of Structures, New York Central 
& Hudson River Railroad, Grand Central Sta., New York; W. S. Eames, 
President, American Institute of Architects, St. Louis, Missouri; W. J. 
Kelly, Vice-President, American Railway Engineering and Maintenance of 
Way Association, Minneapolis, Minn. 

The specifications drawn up by this committee are prefaced by some 
explanatory remarks and suggestions in regard to the various tests. For 
further explanations of the procedure of testing the committee refers to the 
report of the Committee on Uniform Tests of Cement of the American Society 
of Civil Engineers, whose recommendations it adopts as standard and 
reprints as an appendix to its report. We have omitted this appendix and 
give below only the specifications and the prefatory remarks: 

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 

1. These remarks have been prepared with a view of pointing out the 
pertinent features of the various requirements and the precautions to be 
observed in the interpretation of the results of the tests. 

2. The committee would suggest that the acceptance or rejection under 
these specifications be based on tests made by an experienced person having 
the proper means for making the tests. 

3. Specific Gravity. —Specific gravity is useful in detecting adultera¬ 
tion or underburning. The result of tests of specific gravity are not neces¬ 
sarily conclusive as an indication of the quality of a cement, but when in 
combination with the results of other tests may afford valuable indications. 

a. Fineness. —The sieve should be kept thoroughly dry. 

r. Time of Setting.— Great care should be exercised to maintain the 


280 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


test pieces under as uniform conditions as possible. A sudden change or 
wide range of temperature in the room in which the tests are made, a very 
dry or humid atmosphere, and other irregularities vitally affect the rate of 
setting. 

6 . Tensile Strength. —Each consumer must fix the minimum require¬ 
ments for tensile strength to suit his own conditions. They shall, however, 
be within the limits stated. 

7. Constancy of Volume. —The tests for constancy of volume are divided 
into two classes, the first normal, the second accelerated. The latter should 
be regarded as a precautionary test only, and not infallible. So many condi¬ 
tions enter into the making and interpreting of it that it should be used with 
extreme care. 

8. In making the pats the greatest care should be exercised to avoid initial 
strains due to molding or to too rapid drying out during the first twenty-four 
hours. The pats should be preserved under the most uniform conditions 
possible, and rapid changes of temperature should be avoided. 

9. The failure to meet the requirements of the accelerated tests need not 
be sufficient cause for rejection. The cement may, however, be held for 
twenty-eight days, and a retest made at the end of that period. Failure to 
meet the requirements at this time should be considered sufficient cause for 
rejection, although in the present state of our knowledge it cannot be said 
that such failure necessarily indicates unsoundness, nor can the cement be 
considered entirely satisfactory simply because it passes the tests. 

STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS FOR CEMENT. 

1. General Conditions. —All cement shall be inspected. 

2. Cement may be inspected either at the place of manufacture or on the 
work. 

3. In order to allow ample time for inspecting and testing, the cement 
should be stored in a suitable weather-tight building having the floor properly 
blocked or raised from the ground. 

4. The cement shall be stored in such a manner as to permit easy access 
for proper inspection and identification of each shipment. 

5. Every facility shall be provided by the contractor and a period of at 
least twelve days allowed for the inspection and necessary tests. 

6. Cement shall be delivered in suitable packages with the brand and 
name of manufacturer plainly marked thereon. 

7. A bag of cement shall contain 94 pounds of cement net. Each barrel 
of Portland cement shall contain four bags, and each barrel of natural cement 
shall contain three bags of the above net weight. 

8. Cement failing to meet the seven-day requirements may be held await¬ 
ing the results of the twenty-eight-day tests before rejection. 

9. All tests shall be made in accordance with the methods proposed by 


APPENDIX V. 


281 


the Committee on Uniform Tests of Cement of the American Society of Civil 
Engineers, presented to the society Jan. 21, 1903, and amended Jan. 20, 1904, 
with all subsequent amendments thereto. 

10. The acceptance or rejection shall be based on the following require¬ 
ments: 

Natural Cement. 

n. Definition. —This term shall be applied to the finely pulverized prod¬ 
uct resulting from the calcination of an argillaceous limestone at a tempera¬ 
ture only sufficient to drive off the carbonic acid gas. 

12. Specific Gravity. —The specific gravity of the cement, thoroughly 
dried at ioo° C., shall be not less than 2.8. 

13. Fineness. —It shall leave by weight a residue of not more than 10 
per cent, on the No. 100, and 30 per cent, on the No. 200 sieve. 

14. Time of Setting. —It shall develop initial set in not less than ten 
minutes, and hard set in not less than thirty minutes, nor more than three 
hours. 

15. Tensile Strength. —The minimum requirements for tensile strength 
for briquettes 1 inch square in cross-section shall be within the following 
limits, and shall show no retrogression in strength within the periods specified: 

Neat cement: 

Age. Strength. 

24 hours in moist air. 50-100 lbs. 

7 days (1 day in air, 6 days in water). 100-200 

28 “ (fi “ “ “ 27 “ “ “ ). 200-300 “ 

One part cement , three parts standard sand: 

7 days (1 day in air, 6 days in water). 25- 75 

28 “ (1 “ “ “ 27 “ “ “ ). 75 - 15 ° “ 

16. Constancy of Volume. —Pats of neat cement about 3 inches in 
diameter, one-half inch thick at center, tapering to a thin edge, shall be kept 
in moist air for a period of twenty-four hours. 

(a) A pat is then kept in air at normal temperature. 

(b) Another is kept in water maintained as near 70° F. as practicable. 

17. These pats are observed at intervals for at least twenty-eight da}^, 
and, to satisfactorily pass the tests, should remain firm and hard and show no 
signs of distortion, checking, cracking or disintegrating. 

Portland Cement. 

18. Definition. —This term is applied to the finely pulverized product 
resulting from the calcination to incipient fusion of an intimate mixture of 
properly proportioned argillaceous and calcareous materials, and to which no 
addition greater than 3 per cent, has been made subsequent to calcination. 

19. Specific Gravity.— The specific gravity of the cement, thoroughly 
dried at ioo° C., shall be not less than 3.10. 







282 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


20. Fineness. —It shall leave by weight a residue of not more than 8 per 
cent, on the No. 100, and not more than 25 per cent, on the No. 200 sieve. 

21. Time of Setting. —It shall develop initial set in not less than thirty 
minutes, but must develop hard set in not less than one hour, nor more than 
ten hours. 

22. Tensile Strength. —The minimum requirements for tensile strength 
for briquettes one inch square in section shall be within the following limits, 
and shall show no retrogression in strength within the periods specified: 


Neat cement: 

Age. Strength. 

24 hours in moist air.. 150-200 lbs. 

7 days (1 day in air, 6 days in water). 4^0-^° “ 

28 “ (1 “ “ “ 27 “ “ “ ). 550-650 “ 

One part cement , three parts sand: 

7 days (1 day in moist air, 6 days in water). 150-200 “ 


28 “ (1 “ “ “ “ 27 “ “ “ ). 200-300 “ 

23. Constancy of Volume. —Pats of neat cement about 3 inches in 
diameter, one-half inch thick at the center, and tapering to a thin edge, shall 
be kept in moist air for a period of twenty-four hours. 

(a) A pat is then kept in air at normal temperature and observed at inter¬ 
vals for at least twenty-eight days. 

(b) Another pat is kept in water maintained as near 70° F. as practicable, 
and observed at intervals for at least twenty-eight days. 

(c) A third pat is exposed in any convenient way in an atmosphere of 
steam, above boiling water, in a loosely closed vessel for five hours. 

24. These parts, to satisfactorily pass the requirements, shall remain firm 
and hard and show no signs of distortion, checking, cracking or disintegration. 

25. Sulphuric Acid and Magnesia. —The cement shall not contain 
more than 1.75 per cent, of anhydrous sulphuric acid (S 0 3 ), nor more than 
4 per cent, of magnesia (MgO). 







APPENDIX VI. 


METAL SHEET-PILING. 

The prediction was made, in the first edition of this book, at the end of 
Chapter VI, that Metal Sheet-piling would doubtless come into use as timber 
became more expensive to use, and at the end of Chapter VIII mention is 
made of work at Cuxhaven Harbor, Germany, where Metal Sheet-piles were 
used. An account is also given of the Friestedt Patent Interlocking Sheet¬ 
piling, which is almost identical with Metal Sheet-piling described in Volume I 
of the “Transactions of the Institution of Civil Engineers.” It is worthy 
of comment that this has probably been lost sight of by engineers, and even 
“The Engineer” in a review of the first edition of this book makes the state¬ 
ment: 

“Numerous existing examples of coffer-dams constructed of sheet-piling 
are described and illustrated, and Mr. Fowler endorses a statement recently 
made in our columns by remarking that “the growing scarcity of timber 
will doubtless lead to the use of metal at some time in the future to replace 
sheet-piling for coffer-dams.” So that the following paper on Metal Sheet¬ 
piling, published in 1836, will doubtless prove of great interest to engineers, if 
not of considerable value: 

“Memoir on the use of Cast Iron in Piling, particularly at Brunswick 
Wharf, Blackwall. By Michael A. Borthwick, A. Inst. C. E.” 

A short sketch of the introduction and use of cast iron in piling may 
not be considered an inappropriate accompaniment to an account of one 
of the most recent works in which it has been adopted. 

Public attention was first drawn to such an application of iron by Mr. 
Ewart, of Manchester, now of His Majesty’s Dock-yard, at Woolwich; but 
though this merit is certainly due to that ingenious gentleman, he had been, 
as it afterwards proved, anticipated in the idea by the late Mr. Mathews, 
of Bridlington, who, previously to the date of Mr. Ewart’s patent, had used 
cast-iron sheet-piles in the foundations of the head of the north pier of that 
harbor. These piles were of different forms; in the margin (Fig. 142) is 
given a cross-section of one of, I believe, the most common, in which it will 
be seen the adjoining piles dovetail to each other, while in others, I have 
been informed, they merely overlap. Their length was about 8 or 9 feet, 
their width from 21 inches to 2 feet, and their thickness half an inch. 

283 


284 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


In ignorance of Mr. Mathews’ proceedings, Mr. Ewart, in the beginning 
•of 1822, took out a patent for a new method of making coffer dams, which 
he proposed to effect by employing plates of cast iron, held together by cramps 
fitted to dovetailed edges on the piles. A section of these piles, taken from 
some that have been used, is shown in the accompanying sketch (Fig. 143). 
A detail of the mode in which it was proposed to combine them so as to form 
a coffer-dam might be out of place, in a paper that has reference more to 
the use of iron piling for permanent purposes; the plan, as described in the 
specification of the patent, is to be found in the Repertory of Arts, and an 
abstract of it in the London Journal 0} Arts and Sciences for the year 1822. 
The length of the piles is therein stated as intended to be from 10 to 15 feet, 
which is, I understand, about what they have generally teen made, and for 



Fig. 142. —Matthew’s Cast- Fig. 143. —Ewart’s Cast-iron 
iron Sheet-pile. Sheet-pile. 

cases requiring a greater depth, a mode is described of lengthening the piles, 
by placing one above another, and securing the horizontal joints by means 
of dovetailed cramps. 

Though, on being apprised of what had been done at Burlington, Mr. 
Ewart did not defend his patent, his piles have been pretty extensively adopted, 
particularly by Mr. Mylne, of New River Head, London, and Mr. Hartley, 
of Liverpool. Besides other operations in the important public work under 
his charge, the former gentleman used the piles, soon after their invention, 
with complete success in a coffer-dam of considerable size, constructed in 
the river Thames for the purpose of putting in a suction-pipe opposite the 
New River Company’s establishment at Broken Wharf. They have also 
been used with advantage by Mr. Hartley, in founding the pier heads of 
the basin of George’s Dock, and various parts of the walls of some of the 
other docks at Liverpool, as also in putting in the foundations of the south 
river-wall. 

Looking at the dovetailed form of these piles, one would, I think, have 
been inclined to anticipate difficulty in driving them, but this does not seem 
to have been met with to any extent in practice, at least in coffer-dams, the 
original object of the invention. On this point I have pleasure in being 
able to quote some observations of Mr. John B. Hartley, which contain the 
results of the Liverpool experience: “Considerable care,” he writes, “is 
renuired in keeping the piles in a vertical position, as they are apt to shrink 
every blow and drive slanting. They require to be driven between two 
heavy balks of timber to keep them in a straight line, as they expose very 
little section to the blow of the ram, and are so sharp that they are easily 
driven out of a right line. There is another very necessary precaution to 













APPENDIX VI. 


285 


be taken, which is the keeping of the fall in the same line as the pile; other¬ 
wise the ram descending on the pile and not striking it fairly, all parts equally, 
the chances are that, if in a pretty stiff stratum, the head breaks off in shivers, 
and the pile must be drawn, which is sometimes no easy matter.” He con¬ 
cludes by saying, “these piles are on the whole the most useful tools you can 
use for their purpose (coffer-damming). I believe they have had as exten¬ 
sive a trial at the Liverpool Docks as anywhere else, and certainly with 
success. They have generally been driven with the ringing or hand engine 
and rams of 3 or 4 cwt., a front and back pile being driven at the same time 
by one ram.” 

In the work at Broken Wharf, the practice was to insert the piles and 
cramps all round the dam first, and drive them a moderate distance into 
the ground, then to pass the engine repeatedly round and send them down 
gradually, instead of driving them home at once; and Mr. Mylne has men¬ 
tioned to me that while this was in progress, the piles being at the time but 
slightly driven, he was somewhat alarmed one morning at finding that the 
run of the water had elevated one end of the dam considerably above the 
other. The dovetails, however, held good, and proper precautions being 
taken, the return of the tide put all right again without at all crippling the 
work, the movement having been regular all over the dam. I ought to add 
that these dams are still used in the works on the New River, four sets being 
generally kept in hand, and that the ringing engine is always employed, and 
the above stated method of driving followed. 

I have perhaps dwelt longer on Mr. Ewart’s project than I should 
otherwise have done, from a feeling that from his labors has sprung much 
that has followed in the way of iron piling; and besides, it may be observed, 
the remarks as to driving are not entirely limited in their application to this 
particular description of pile. The next work that occurs was executed by 
Mr. Walker in 1824; this was the rebuilding of the return end of the quay- 
wall of Downes Wharf, Saint Katherine’s, which had been undermined by 
the wash from the Hermitage entrance of the London Docks. With a view 
to a more effectual resistance of a like action in future, iron instead of wood 
sheet-piling was introduced in the foundation of the wall in question; and 
though, if one may judge from the specification of the patent, no application 
of his plan of so permanent a nature seems to have been contemplated by 
Mr. Ewart, the work was begun according to 
it, but it was afterwards modified at the re¬ 
quest of the contractor, so as to give the 
section of pile shown in the margin (Fig. 

144), the flanch being in front or outside. 

Although, as has been already seen, the piles Fig. 
in their original form may be easily enough Sheet-pile. 

driven in some cases, it was found impossible to get them down in a regular 
line to the depth required in the present instance, through the hard material 




U- 


«-- 1-2 -* 

144.—Ewart’s Modified 







286 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 




+ - 1 - 6 - 


-> 


l 


that had to be penetrated, and by which in fact they were surrounded and 
pressed for nearly their whole length of 14 feet. 

A work on a much larger scale than any yet mentioned now presents 
itself, the wharfing at the sea entrance of the Norwich and Lowestoft naviga¬ 
tion. In this Mr. Cubitt has adopted sheet¬ 
piling exclusively without the intervention of 
main or guide piles; the form and section will 
be seen by the accompanying sketches (Fig. 145), 
which it is almost unnecessary to observe are 
not drawn to the same scale, the transverse sec¬ 
tion being considerably enlarged beyond the 
other two. The piles are all 30 feet long; their 
weight is about a ton and a half each. The back 
flanch, which is shown at the deepest on the 
cross-section, tapers gradually to about 6 inches 
at top, where the angles are blocked in to form a 
head for driving, and is diminished at the lower 
end by steps or set-offs of parallel width with 
square ends, instead of a straight or curving line, 
as the latter shape was found to have a tendency 
to press the pile forward, whereas by the plan 
adopted it drove as fairly as if the flanch had 
been continued its full width to the foot of the 
pile. The driving was all effected by means of 
crab engines with monkeys about as heavy as 


1 1 
O 


Fig. 145. — Cubitt’s Iron the piles, no more fall being allowed than was 
Sheet-piling. necessary to send them down, and the whole is 

secured by land ties, two in height, at intervals of six feet. The entire 
length of wharfing thus constructed is about 2,000 feet. 

From the form of the pile, according to this plan, giving so thin an abutting 
surface, and the joints not being covered in any way, close and accurate 
driving seems essential to its efficacy, and the nature of the ground (sand 
mixed with shingle) would have made this a somewhat troublesome operation 
at Lowestoft, but for the plan that was taken to insure precision. This 
consisted in riveting close to the lower end of the pile about to be driven a 
pair of strong wrought-iron cheeks projecting beyond the edge about 2 or 
3 inches, which clasping the pile already driven, served as a guide or groove 
to keep the piles flush, however this the edge * and the tendency to turn out 
or in at the heel was counteracted after a few trials by giving a greater or 
less bevel to the front or back face. With these appliances the piling was 
pretty closely driven, and the work, which was completed in 1832, has been 


* This plan has, I believe, been followed by Mr. Cubitt in driving timber-piling 
also, in eases requirin' 1 : nicety of work. 
























APPENDIX VI. 


287 


found fully to answer the object of supporting the sides of the cut from Lake 
Lothing to the sea against the effects of the very ingenious and powerful 
sluicing apparatus provided in the lock at that place. 

About a year later than the above, Mr. Sibley constructed an iron wharfing 
on the Lea Cut at Limehouse on an opposite principle, sheet-piling being 
in this case altogether discarded, and the work consisting 
of flat plates let down in grooves on the sides of guide- 
piles of an elliptical form according to the section op¬ 
posite (Fig. 146), driven at distances of 10 feet. These 
piles are 20 feet long, weigh about ii tons each, and are 
9 feet apart; they are hollow throughout, to enable a 
passage for them to be bored in the soil by means of an Fig. 146. —Sibley 
auger passed through them, and so ease the driving and Hollow Iron 

are filled with concrete; each pile is land-tied, and the plates Sheet-pile. 

extend to within 6 feet of the point. A similar wharfing, but on a larger scale, 
has since been made on each side of the Thames, adjoining New London 
Fridge; that on the city side rather an extensive work, the piles in it being 
43 feet long (cast in two unequal lengths with a spigot and faucet joint), of 
a cylindrical form, 12 inches diameter, and of metal i^ inches thick, and each 
pile being secured by two tiers of ties of 2-inch-square iron carried 70 or 80 
feet back, to resist the great depth of filling up or backing. 

The plan just described seems well enough adapted for situations where 
any great increase of depth is not likely to take place. The absolute depth 
is not so important, though where this is considerable, it may be questionable 
whether a heavy wharf would not be the better for the protection of a con¬ 
tinuous row of piling at foot; the strong land-tying necessary in the last- 
mentioned work seems to point to this. 

I now come to the quay-wall constructed in 1833-34 by Messrs. Walker 
and Burges on the river Thames, in front of the East India Docks at Black- 
wall, and since named Brunswick Wharf. The object of this work was to 
afford accommodation for the largest class of steam-vessels at all times of 
tide, for which the old quay, even had it not been in a state of decay, was 
not adapted from the shallowness of the water in front of it. To effect this, 
the first idea was to run out two or three jetties from the wharf, but this was 
soon abandoned, and a new river-wall resolved on; and advantage was 
taken of the occasion to improve the line of frontage by an extension into 
the river, under the sanction of the Navigation Committee of the Port of 
London, varying from a point at the east end to about 25 feet at the other 
extremity. The use of iron in the work was, I have understood, suggested 
by Mr. Cotton, deputy chairman at the time, and for many years an active 
member of the most respectable and liberal body then in the direction of 
the East India Dock Company, and the adoption of the proposal was facil¬ 
itated by the circumstance which probably led in the first instance to its 





Wharf 


288 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


being made, namely, the low price of the material at the period, the contract 
being little more than 7 pounds per ton delivered in the Thames. 








In the accompanying drawing (Fig. 147) an attempt is made to show 
the mode of construction that was followed, so as to avoid the necessity for 


PLAN 

Fig. 147. -Brunswick Wharf Iron Shfet-piling. 




























































































































































APPENDIX VI. 


289 

much written detail. The first operation was to dig a trench 2 yards deep 
in the intended line, and this was immediately followed by the driving of 
the timber guide-piles. The deepening in front, which, to give the required 
depth of 10 feet at low water, was as much as 12 feet, was not done until 
near the conclusion of the work; to have effected it in the first instance would 
without any countervailing advantage, except some saving in the driving, 
have been attended with the double expense of removing the ground forming 
the original bottom between the old and new lines of wharfing, and after¬ 
wards refilling the void so left by a material that would require time to make 
it of equal solidity; and even if this had been otherwise, such an attempt 
would have endangered the old wall, or rather would have been fatal to it 
The permanent piling was next begun, the main piles being driven first at 
intervals of 7 feet, and the intermediate spaces or bays then filled in work¬ 
ing always from right to left, towards which the drafts of the sheet-piles 
were pointed. The ground is a coarse gravel, with a stratum of the hard 
Blackwall rock occurring in places, and some trouble was occasionally exper¬ 
ienced from its tendency to turn the piles from the proper direction, but, due 
attention being paid to the form of the points, the driving was on the whole 
effected pretty regularly, but few of the bays requiring closing piles specially 
made for them, so that the work may be said to be nearly iron and iron from 
end to end; at the same time, the vertical joints of the piling being all covered, 
as will be noticed presently, any slight imperfection in this respect is no, 
serious detriment to the work as a whole. 

The main piles are in two pieces, the lower end of the upper one being 
formed so as to fit into a socket on the top of the under length, and the joining 
made good by means of a strong screw-bolt; the only object of this was to 
insure a supply of truer castings, and lessen the difficulty of transporting 
such unwieldy masses from Northumberland and Staffordshire to London.* 
Each sheet-pile is secured at the top by two bolts to the uppermost wale of 
the woodwork behind, and the edge of the end ones of each bay, it will be 
observed, passes behind the adjoining main pile, while the other joints are 
overlapped by the bosses with which all the sheet-piles except the closers 
are furnished on one side. Besides adding to the perfection and security 
of the work by breaking the joints, so that the water (if it penetrate, as with 
even the best pile-driving it will) cannot draw the backing from its place, 
these projections appear to me to relieve the appearance of the otherwise 
too uniform face; and a like effect is produced by the horizontal fillets on 
the lower edges of the plates above, which also mask the joints. These 
plates, filling up the spaces over the sheet-piling, are bolted to the main piles 
and to each other in the manner shown, and the joints stopped with iron 

* The Birtley Iron Company, Newcastle-on-Tyne, were the contractors for the 
ironwork, but a portion was supplied by the Horsely Iron Company. Mr. 
M’Intosh, of Bloomsbury Square, had the contract for driving the piles and fix¬ 
ing the work. 




290 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 



!*- 12 " -H 


cement. Where the mooring-rings come, the plates are cast concave, with 
a hole perforated in the middle to allow a bolt to pass through, and this bolt 
is secured, as well as the land-ties from the main piles, to the old wharf, 
which was not otherwise disturbed, or to needle-piles driven adjoining it. 
The backing consists of a concrete of lime and gravel, in the proportion of 
about one to ten, extending down to the solid bottom. The coping with 
the water channel in its rear is of Devonshire granite; the water is conveyed 
from the channel at intervals by pipes, extending from gratings in the bottom 
in a slanting line to the lowermost plate, discharging themselves immediately 
above the sheet-piling. 

The main piles were originally proposed to be hollow in section, accord¬ 
ing to the sketch opposite (Fig. 148); but this was given up on further con¬ 
sideration of the uncertainty of procuring sound castings 
of the intended form, and of the greater liability to break 
afterwards from a blow sidewise. The solid form shown 
on the plate was therefore adopted, according to which the 
lower lengths weighed about 28 cwt.; and that this was not 
Fig. 148. — Orig- too much was shown by the circumstance of several of the 
inal Form pro- piles, particularly the early ones, breaking in the testing 
posed for or driving, and showing in the fracture the danger of even 
Brunswick. a slight defect. The greater care subsequently taken at 
the foundry, and probably also greater experience in driving, made accidents 
of this kind of rarer occurrence in the later stages of the work; and it may 
be mentioned as no bad proof of the care of all parties, that of upwards of 
six hundred piles, including both descriptions, only sixteen broke in driving, 
seven being of one sort, and nine of the other: the failure was in five cases 
attributed to strains in driving, and to imperfections of casting in the other 
eleven. The sheet-piles, which bear a considerable resemblance in their 
general outline to those used at Downes Wharf ten years before, were pro¬ 
posed to be an inch thick, but it was found necessary to increase this dimen¬ 
sion, and some of them were as much as i| inches; the average, however, 
was not above ij inches, and the weight of each pile 17 cwt. The length of 
the wharf is about 720 feet, and the whole weight of iron used upwards of 
900 tons. 

The crab engine was employed invariably, the heads of the piles being 
covered with a slip of f-inch elm, to distribute the force of the blow equally 
over the iron, and prevent jarring. The monkeys used weighed from 13 
to 15 cwt. each, and it was found necessary to limit the fall to a height of 
3 feet 6 inches, and sometimes less, when the resistance proved more than 
usually great and the pile showed a tendency to turn from its straightforward 
course. The driving throughout was very hard, more especially at the west 
end, where the sheet-piles in four bays could not be forced to the full depth, 
the space above being in two of them made up with two plates in height, 
and in the other two admitting only one, instead of three as in the rest of the 




APPENDIX VI. 


291 


work. Driving was the only means resorted to, or indeed practicable in the 
gra\elly soil that prevailed. Had the bottom been clay or other similar 
substance, the plan of boring to receive the points, that has been followed 
elsewhere, might probably have been partially adopted in the main piles 
with advantage; but I should say, certainly not to the extent of depending 
mainly upon it for getting the piles home to their places. 

I cannot quit the subject of the Brunswick Wharf without stating that 
his a\ ocations alone have prevented Mr. George Bidder s association with 
me in the account of a work, the execution of wdiich he had, under Messrs. 
\\ alker and Burges, the charge of superintending. Though rejoicing at 
the cause, I cannot help regretting the circumstance in the present instance, 
as such co-operation on the part of my friend would, I feel, have given this 
paper an interest and a value it has now but little claim to. I take this oppor¬ 
tunity also of acknowledging my obligation to several of the gentlemen above 
named in connection with the previous use of iron piling, whose kindness 
has enabled me to make the preliminary review much fuller than I had at 
one time any expectation of having the power to do. 

It remains for me only, in conclusion, to advert to a consideration that 
ought not to be lost sight of in deciding upon the eligibility of cast-iron wharf- 
ing—I mean the action of water upon it. I do not recollect any observations 
made so as to enable a practical inference to be drawn from them; but the 
importance of the subject seems to claim attention, and possibly even this 
notice may be the means of inducing it from those who have the opportunity. 

The investigation belongs perhaps rather to chemistry than engineering, 
but notwithstanding the practical turn some of the most distinguished cul¬ 
tivators of that science have given their researches, little I believe has yet 
been done to explain the present question. How iron is affected by water 
in its various states, and in what manner the action on wrought differs from 
that on cast iron, are interesting points, still, so far as my information goes, 
to be determined; and they are not likely to be so in a satisfactory manner 
until some one competent to the task calls a series of well-conducted experi¬ 
ments in aid, as every day shows more clearly the uncertainty of analogical 
reasoning, however apparently strict, on such subjects. But whatever the 
modus operandi between cause and effect, that decomposition of the metal, 
more or less rapid, gradually goes on from the action of water, seems to 
admit of no doubt. Professor Faraday, in a letter to Captain Brown, says, 
“Cast iron is certainly liable to great injury from constant immersion in 
salt water, and I think you would find few, if any exceptions, provided the 
water and the iron are in contact.” * And the saline principle, to use a some¬ 
what antiquated form of expression, though a great accelerator of the process, 
does not appear to be altogether an essential to it; t at least, I know a case 

* Description of a Bronze or Cast-iron Columnal Lighthouse, etc., by Capt. 
Brown, R.N. 

t The difference between sea and other water, in operating with the galvanic 






292 


OR DINAR Y FOUNDATIONS. 


that happened in a part of the river Thames where the water cannot be 
said to be more than brackish at any time, and indeed is generally quite 
fresh, in which cast iron, after being immersed for little more than twenty 
years, was, on being withdrawn from the water, found so soft as to yield to 
the penknife; and the original surface of the iron referred to—it was the 
socket-plate to the heel-post of a lock-gate—had not been submitted to the 
tool, in which case it is well known the water would have operated with much 
greater effect. 

But though I have thought it well to glance at the above case occurring 
in water, always except on rare occasions fresh, the sea is no doubt in practice 
the invader whose inroads are most alarming. Instances might easily be 
cited in proof of the ravages committed by that active enemy, though not 
perhaps noted so circumstantially as is desirable, but I am unwilling to lengthen 
this communication further, and shall therefore confine myself to a passing 
allusion to the example on a large scale, and after long trial, furnished by 
the state of the guns taken from the wreck of the Royal George, as described 
at a late meeting of the Institution;* * and to a similar instance mentioned 
by Berzelius, in a passage which I quote at length, not so much however in 
confirmation of so well established a fact as the eventual decomposition of 
cast iron by the action of water, as for the properties mentioned of the sub¬ 
stance into which the metal is resolved. The extract is as follows: 

“Quand la fonte reste long-temps sous l’eau, elle est decomposee; l’acide 
carbonique contenu dans l’eau dissout le fer et l’entraine; il reste une masse 
grise qui ressemble a la plombagine. Lorsqu’on retira de l’eau, il y a quelques. 
annees, les canons d’un vaisseau qui avait coule a fond cinquante ans aupar- 
avant, aux environs de Carlscrona, on les trouva au tiers converti en une 
pareille masse poreuse; a peine etaient-ils a l’air depuis un quart d’heure, 
qu’ils commencerent a s’echauffer tellement, que l’eau qui y restait encore 
s’echappa sous forme de vapeur, et qu’il fut impossible d’y toucher. Depuis, 
Macculloch a observe t que le corps analogue a la plombagine qui se forme 
ainsi presente toujours ce phenomene, et que ce corps s’echauffe presque 
jusqu’au rouge, en absorbant de l’oxygene. Ou ne sait pas precisement 
ce qui se passe dans ce cas.”—Traite de Chimie, Tom. Ill, p. 273. 


battery, is much less considerable than that between the latter and distilled, but 
it is between salt and fresh that the practical question lies in the present case. 

* Min. of Convers., Vol. V, No. 12. 

f The observation referred to by Berzelius in the above occurs in Macculloch’s 
Western Isles of Scotland (I think in the account of the island of Mull), where 
an explanation of the phenomenon was first attempted, though, if on such a sub¬ 
ject I may “hint a doubt,” not to my mind quite a satisfactory one. A more 
perfect solution will probably be furnished by whoever, availing himself of the 
powerful means of chemical analysis now possessed, may undertake such an 
investigation of the whole question of the action of water on iron as I have ven¬ 
tured to allude to in the text. 



APPENDIX VI. 


2 93 


TABLE XI—HEALD & SISCO STANDARD IRON HORIZONTAL 

CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS. 


No. 

Capacity in 
Gallons 
per Minute. 

Horse¬ 
power Re¬ 
quired for 
Each Foot 
of Lift. 
Minimum 
Quantity. 

Diame¬ 
ter and 
Face of 
Pulley 
in Ins. 

Floor 
Space Re¬ 
quired 
in Inches. 

Shipping 

Weight, 

Pounds. 

Price of 
Pump, 
Oilers 
and 

Wrench. 

Price of 
Pump 
and 

Primer. 

No. 

l§ 

50 to 

70 

. 024 

6X 6 

17X 

30 

168 

$45 

$55 

i£ 

if 

75 to 

100 

•037 

7X 8 

21X 

33 

232 

60 

70 

if 

2 

no to 

15° 

•054 

8X 8 

23X 

37 

306 

75 

90 

2 

2 \ 

175 to 

250 

.086 

8X 8 

24X 

38 

348 

90 

i °5 

ai 

3 

250 to 

350 

. 124 

8X 8 

25X 

39 

400 

no 

130 

3 

4 

450 to 

600 

.223 

10X 10 

3 ° x 

40 

545 

130 

i 55 

4 

5 

750 to 

900 

•372 

15X12 

34 X 

54 

826 

j6 5 

i 95 

5 

6 

1,000 to 

1,400 

.496 

15X12 

37 X 

55 

965 

200 

240 

6 

8 

1,700 to 

2,200 

.844 

20X 12 

45 X 

6 3 

i,5°° 

3 io 

375 

8 

10 

2,200 tO 

3, OOO 

1.093 

24X12 

5 lX 

7 i 

2,170 

395 

470 

10 

12 

3,000 to 

4,000 

1.49 

30X14 

62 X 

78 

3,050 

5 °° 


12 

15 

4,800 to 

6,000 

2.38 

40X15 

77X 

80 

7,100 

850 


15 

*15 

4,800 to 

6,000 

2.38 

30X15 

60 x 

68 

3 ,i 5 ° 

710 


1.5 

18 

7 , 5 °° to 

10,000 

3-73 

40X15 

93X 

103 

9,000 

1,300 


18 

*18 

7,500 to 

10,000 

3-73 

30X 16 

62 x 

7 o 

3 , 5 oo 

1,150 


18 

22 

12,000 to 

14,000 

5-96 

48X 20 

I26X 130 

12,000 

.... 


22 


The number of pump is also diameter of discharge opening in inches. 
Where more than 25 feet of discharge-pipe is attached to pump, use one of 
two sizes larger than pump discharge. 

For No. 12 and larger sizes a foot-valve or flap-valve and ejector for priming 
is recommended. 

TABLE XII.—LIST OF HEALD & SISCO HYDRAULIC DREDGING- 

AND SAND-PUMPS. 


d 

£ 

3 

Oh 

U-t 

0 

U 

v 

rO 

£ 

3 

£ 

Diam¬ 

eter 

Suction 

and 

Dis¬ 

charge 

Open¬ 

ings, 

Inches. 

Cubic Yards 
of Material 
they will 
Raise per 
Hour. 

Horse¬ 
power 
Recom¬ 
mended 
for 10- 
foot 
Lift. 

Diam¬ 
eter 
and 
Face of 
Pulley. 

Floor 

Space 

Re¬ 

quired, 

Inches. 

Ship¬ 

ping 

Weight, 

Pounds. 

Will 

Pass 

Solids, 

Diam¬ 

eter, 

Ins. 

Price of 
Pump Com¬ 
plete, with 
Suction and 
Discharge 
Elbows, Flap- 
valve, and 
Ejector. 

d 

£ 

3 

hn 

U-i 

0 

u 

<D 

rO 

£ 

3 

£ 

4 

4 

30 to 50 

6 

12X 12 

40X31 

800 

2 

$210 

4 

6 

6 

60 to 80 

12 

20X 12 

68 X 40 

I,7°° 

4 i 

3°0 

6 

8 

8 

125 to 150 

22 

24X 14 

72X48 

3,400 

6 

475 

8 

10 

10 

200 to 300 

35 

3°X 15 

94X54 

4,200 

8 

600 

10 

12 

12 

300 to 375 

45 

36X 20 

114X 66 

9,000 

10 

850 

12 

15 

15 

400 to 500 

75 

42X24 

154X78 

12,000 

10 

1,45° 

15 

18 

18 

500 to 700 

125 

48X30 

160X80 

I 3 , 5 °° 

10 

1,900 

18 

20 

20 






, . 


20 








22 

22 

22 










* Refers to low-lift pumps. 




























































294 


ORDINARY FOUNDATIONS. 


TABLE XIII—NUMBER OF REVOLUTIONS AT WHICH PUMPS 
SHOULD RUN TO RAISE WATER TO DIFFERENT HEIGHTS. 


No. 

5 Feet. 

10 Feet. 

15 Feet. 

20 Feet. 

25 Feet. 

30 Feet. 

3 5 Feet. 

40 Feet. 


428 

604 

739 

854 

955 

1045 

1131 

1208 

if 

348 

491 

601 

695 

777 

850 

920 

982 

2 

302 

426 

522 

603 

674 

737 

798 

852 


302 

426 

522 

603 

674 

737 

798 

852 

3 

3°2 

426 

522 

603 

674 

737 

798 

852 

4 

285 

402 

493 

5 6 9 

637 

697 

754 

805 

5 

256 

362 

443 

512 

572 

626 

678 

724 

6 

214 

3°2 

368 

427 

478 

523 

566 

604 

8 

183 

259 

3 i 7 

366 

409 

448 

485 

517 

IO 

168 

238 

291 

336 

37 6 

411 

445 

475 

12 

133 

188 

230 

266 

298 

326 

352 

37 6 

15 

i °5 

148 

181 

209 

234 

256 

277 

295 

*15 

151 

213 

261 

301 

337 

369 

399 

426 

l8 

io 5 

148 

181 

209 

234 

256 

277 

295 

*l8 

!SI 

213 

261 

301 

337 

3 6 9 

399 

426 


Above table gives correct speed of pumps as employed under usual condi¬ 
tions of pumping. If water must be forced through a number of bends and 
elbows, or a great length of piping, the above speed must be somewhat 
increased. 

Use large pipes and easy bends wherever practicable, as they save power. 


TABLE XIV.—TABLE OF SIZES, LIDGERWOOD SINGLE-CLYINDER, 
SINGLE-DRUM HOISTING-ENGINES. 


Horse-power 

Usually Rated. 

Dimen¬ 
sions of 
Cylinder 

Weight Hoisted Single 
Rope, Usual Speed, 
Pounds. 

Suitable Weight of 
Pile-driving Hammer 
for Quick Work, Lbs. 

Dimensions of 
Hoisting-drum. 

Dimensions 
of Bed-plate. 

Dimensions of 
Boiler. 

Estimated Shipping 
Weight Complete, 
etc.. Lbs. 

Diameter, 

Inches. 

Stroke, 

Inches. 

Diam. Body 
between 
Flanges, 
Inches. 

Length Body 
between 
Flanges, 
Inches. 

Diameter 

Flanges, 

Inches. 

Width, 

Inches. 

Length, 
Inches. 

Diameter 

Shell, 

Inches. 

Height Shell 
Inches. 

Number of 
2-inch 

Tubes. 

4 

5 

8 

1200 

IOOO 

10 

20 

22 

38 

60 

28 

6 3 

40 

355 ° 

6 

61 

8 

I 5 °° 

1250 

IO 

20 

22 

38 

60 

28 

69 

4c 

3950 

8 

6 } 

10 

175 ° 

1500 

12 

20 

24 

41 

73 

30 

72 

44 

4850 

10 

7 

10 

2500 

1800 

12 

20 

24 

41 

73 

32 

75 

48 

5 ° 5 ° 

11 

7 

10 

2500 

2000 

14 

22 

26 

45 

73 

34 

78 

52 

5350 

12^ 

81 

10 

4000 

2 500 

14 

23 

29 

47 

73 

36 

75 

57 

6 55 o 

15 

81 

10 

4000 

2800 

14 

23 

29 

47 

73 

36 

81 

57 

6750 

20 

81 

12 

6000 

4000 

16 

26 

33 

54 

84 

40 

84 

80 

8t;oo 

25 

10 

12 

8000 

5000 

16 

26 

33 

54 

84 

42 

90 

88 

9500 


* Refers to low-lift pumps. 







































































APPENDIX VI. 


2 95 


TABLE XV.—TABLE OF SIZES, LIDGERWOOD DOUBLE-CYLINDER, 
DOUBLE-DRUM HOISTING-ENGINES. 


Horse-power 
Usually Rated. 

Dimensions 
of Cylin¬ 
ders. 

Dimensions 
of Hoisting- 
drums. 

Weight Hoisted 
Single Rope, 
Average Speed. 

1 Suitable Weight 

of Pile-driving 

Hammer for 

Quick Work. 

Dimensions of 
Boiler. 

Dimensions 
of Bed¬ 
plate. 

Estimated Ship¬ 

ping Weight 
with Boiler 

Complete. 

Diam., 

Inches. 

Stroke, 
Inches. 

Diam., 

Inches. 

Length, 

Inches. 

1 

Diam., 

Inches. 

Height, 

Inches. 

Number 

of 2-in. 

Tubes. 

Width, 

Inches. 

Length, 

Inches. 

8 

5 

8 

12 

22 

2,000 

1,500 

32 

75 

48 

47 

80 

6,500 

12 

6* 

8 

14 

22 

3,000 

2,000 

3 6 

75 

57 

5 ° 

86 

8,000 

16 

6i 

IO 

14 

26 

4,000 

2,800 

38 

81 

68 

54 

89 

9,000 

20 

7 

IO 

14 

26 

5,000 

3 > 5 °° 

40 

84 

80 

54 

89 

9 , 55 ° 

30 

8i 

IO 

14 

27 

8,000 

5,000 

42 

90 

88 

57 

94 

11,400 

40 

8 J 

12 

16 

32 

10,000 

8,000 

5 ° 

102 

124 

7 ° 

117 

21,000 

So 

IO 

12 

16 

32 

12,000 

10,000 

53 

102 

150 

7 ° 

117 

22,000 













































INDEX. 


Aa River, Russia, Riga-Orel bridge over, 98. 

Abrasion, effect of, on stone, 201. 

Absorption of building-stone, ratio of, 203. 

Abutments of bridges, 1 (see also under Specifications, selections from). 
Adda River, span over, at Frezzo, 2. 

Albany, N. Y., foundation of State Capitol, 166. 

American rivers, early foundations over, 5. 

Anchoring cribs and crib coffer-dams, 39. 

Anderson, J. F., 96. 

Arch bridges, 92, 93. 

Arch, development of, by the Romans, 2. 

Architectural design of piers, correlation of theoretical form and, 94, 95. 
Arkansas River, bridge over, at Tulsa, 23. 

A. , T. & S. F. R. R., cribs used on, 21, 25. 

Australia, Hawkesbury Bridge, 94 ff. 

Bach, C., 99. 

Baker, Prof. I. O., 176, 191, 212. 

Baker, Sir Benjamin, 101. 

Baldwin, H. F., 73. 

B. & O. R. R., coffer-dam of, at Harper’s Ferry, 66, 74; calculation for 
span load, 188. 

Bamboo casings, Japanese, 4. 

Bark, protection afforded timber by, 248; artificial, 248. 

Bascule pump, 130, 131. 

Basket caissons, 4. 

Bearing capacity of soil, 166. 

Bear River, bridge over, at Victoria, 97. 

Bed-rock pier, Chattanooga Bridge, 79. 

Berzelius, quotation from, 296. 

Beton, early use of, 5. 


297 



298 


INDEX. 


Blake, E. J., 19. 

Boiler, A. P., 43, 68. 

Boring apparatus, test, 183 ff.; of Mississippi River Commission, 185, 186. 
Bossut, M., 192. 

Bottom, scraper for removing soft, 15; different kinds of, 149 ff. 

Box lift-pump, 131. 

Bridge erection, Knoxville, Tenn., 230. 

Bridge, Melan arch, 92, 93. Bridge piers, see Piers. 

Bridge superstructures, 1. 

Bridges referred to: 

Aa River, Russia, 98. 

Ann Arbor, Mich. Cent. Ry., 69. 

Arthur Kill, 43, 60, 68. 

Baltimore (North Ave.), 164. 

Bismarck, N. Pac. Ry., 168, 170. 

Blackfriars, London, 4. 

Boucicault, France, 151. 

Brooklyn, 174. 

Buda Pesth, 10 ff., 59. 

Caesar’s, 5, 46. 

Cannon St., London, 174. 

Charing Cross, London, 174. 

Charlestown, Boston, 61, 62, 74, 75. 

Chattanooga (Walnut St.), 78, 79. 

Chillicothe, Ohio, 123 ff. 

Cincinnati suspension, 168 ff. 

Clarence, Cardiff, 94 n. 

Coteau, Can. Atl. Ry., 45. 

Cumberland, Md. (Baltimore St.), 79, 80. 

Duwamish Draw, Puget Sound Elec. Ry., 234. 

Fair Haven, Eng., 55. 

Falls, 90. 

Fort Madison, 25. 

Forth, 94 n., 101 ff. 

Gorai, 176. 

Harlem Ship Canal, 43. 

Harper’s Ferry, B. & O. R. R., 66, 74. 

Hawkesbury, Australia, 94 ff., 117, 145. 

Hutcheson, Glasgow, 7 ff., 59, 66. 

Little Bras d’Or River, C. B., 97. 

Little Rock, Ark. (Main St.), 83. 

Memphis, Tenn., cantilever, 174, 175. 


INDEX. 


299 

Bridges referred to: 

Nantes, 176. 

Neuilly, France, 131. 

Omaha, Union Pac. Ry., 189, 190. 

Orleans, France, 47, 130. 

Philadelphia (Walnut St.), 25. 

Putney, Eng., 92. 

Queen’s, Melbourne, 40. 

Raging River, N. Pac. Ry., 235-237. 

Red River, 153. 

Rochester, N. Y. (Court St.), 165. 

Saumur, France, 48. 

Shuster, Persia, 2, 3. 

Topeka, Kans., 92, 93, 164. 

Trajan’s, 46. 

Trezzo, Milan, 2. 

Tulsa, 23. 

Victoria, Bear River, 97. 

Westminster, London, 4. 

Bridges, foundations of ancient, 2; serpentine form of, 2; single-arch, early 
form of, 2, 4. 

Bucket for concreting, 152, 153. 

Bucket-wheel used at Neuilly, France, 131. 

Building laws of N. Y. City, rules from, 177 ff. 

Buildings, steel sheeting for foundations of, 108, 109. 

Bulkhead, canvas, 36 ff. 

Bull-wheel pile-driver, Perronet’s, 47; De Cessart’s, 48. 

Burlap as artificial bark for timber, 248. 

Burr, Wm. H., 43, 242. 

Byers, M. L., 15. 

) 

Cableways, 162 ff. 

Caissons, open, 2, 4; basket, 4; pneumatic, 6, 123 ff.; diverse opinions of 
engineers concerning use of, 6 ; metal, 94 n.; cylinders and, hi ff.; con¬ 
struction of, 123 ff.; launching, 125, 126; plant for, and method of sink¬ 
ing, 127 ff.; filling with concrete, 128, 129. 

Calking, timber work of piers, 122; caisson, 24, 125. 

Can. Pac. Ry., cribs used on, 20. 

Candle-wicking, use of, 34. 

Cane-stalks, use of, to secure tightness and stop leaks, 32. 

Canvas, cribs and, 32 ff. 

Canvas bulkhead, 35 ff. 


3 °° 


INDEX. 


Canvas funnel for springs, 38. 

Cape Breton, bridge over Little Bras d’Or River, 97. 

Carson, Howard A., 70. 

Casey, Capt. Thos. L., 74. 

Cast-iron piling, 283 ff.; effect of water on, 291, 292. 

Cement and concrete, 213 ff.; earliest use of cement, 213; first real Portland, 
213; manufacture of Portland and natural cement in U. S., 213; grinding 
of cements, 214; storing of cement at works, 215; storing cement on 
contracts, 215; packing cement, 215; German vs. English cements, 215; 
testing of cement, 215, 216; cement specifications, 215 ff. (see also Specifi¬ 
cations, selections from); Thacher’s general specifications for concrete, 
218 ff. (see also Specifications, examples from); concrete for steel 
bridges, 220; requirements in U. S. government work, 221; requirements 
of cities, 221; proportions of concrete, 221; Thacher’s tables of quantity 
of concrete materials, 221 ff.; Fowler’s discussion of concrete propor¬ 
tions, 221 ff.; Fowler’s table of quantity of concrete materials, 225; 
tests of cements by Major Powell, U. S. Engineers, 226; tests of cements 
by city of Seattle, 231. 

Cement joints, 104. 

Centrifugal pumps, 134 ff.; comparative efficiency of, 138; tests of, 138; 
direct-connected engine and, 139; standard iron horizontal, 277. 

Channeling machines, 204 ff. 

Chanoine dams, 17. 

Chanute, Octave, 25. 

Chapelet pump, 130-132. 

Chattanooga, coffer-dams for Walnut St. Bridge, 78, 79. 

Cheney, Jno. E., 74. 

C., B. & Q. R. R., cribs used on, 19; metal piles, 109, no. 

C. & E. I. Ry., coffer-dam of, at Momence, Ill., 73, 74. 

Chillicothe, O., highway bridge at, 133®. 

Cincinnati, suspension bridge at, 168 ff. 

Circular dam, failure of, 25; Robinson, 25 ff., 60, 61. 

Circular granite piers, 102 ff. 

Circular saw for cutting off piles under water, 99. 

Clamshell and grapple dredges, 144, 145. 

Clark, W. Tierney, 10. 

Clay, use of, to stop leaks, 33 ff.; pressure of, 63 n. 

Clay bags for joints, 104. 

Clay bank, simple, 15. 

Coffer-dams, early use of, 2, 6; different types of, 6ff.; most simple form 
of, 6, 7; Robert Stevenson’s specifications for, 7-9; triple puddle, 
9 ff-; in tide-water, 9, 10; largest, 10; value of actual examples, 14; 


INDEX. 


301 

exact definition of, 15; most frequent source of failure of, 19; grillage, 
25; Robinson, 25 ff., 60, 61; economy of construction, 31; single- and 
double-walled, 30; anchoring, 35, 39, 40, 102 ff.; polygonal, 43 ff.; 
pressure against, 63; sheet-pile, arrangement and diagrams of sizes for, 
64 ff.; sewer, 70, 71; framework and wales for, 79 ff.; for repair or 
removal of piers, 84 ff.; floating, 89 ff.; metal, 94 n., 101 ff.; cylinder, 
98; specifications for, see under Specifications, selections from; synopsis 
of examples of, xx, xxi. 

Compound sheet-pile, 78. 

Compressed-air caissons, 6. 

Concrete (see also Cement and concrete; also under Specifications, exam¬ 
ples from), filling caissons with, 128, 129; leveling course of, 150, 160; 
requirements for good, 156; composition of, 158 ff.; cost of, 160. 

Concrete bags for joints, 104. 

Concrete capping for piles, 4, 5. 

Concrete forms, Red River Bridge, 154 ff.; Illinois and Michigan Canal, 158. 

Concrete leveling course, 150, 160. 

Concrete-mixer, 159, 226. 

Concrete pier, Little Rock, Ark., 83 ff. 

Concrete piers, monolithic, 83 ff., 152 ff. 

Concrete-steel bridges, 92, 93; specifications for cement used in, 215 ff. 

Concreting, under water, 150 ff.; metal for, 151,152; metal bucket for, 152,153. 

Congressional Library, foundation of, 166, 167. 

Construction and practice, 15-45* 

Construction, metal, 94 ff. 

Construction with sheet-piles, 63 ff. 

Contractor’s plant, 160 ff. 

Coosa Dam, cableway at, 164. 

Coosa River, removal of pier in, at Gadsden, Ala., by coffer-dam, 87 ff. 

Cost, of pile-driving outfit, 52; of creosoting, 254, 255. 

Cram-Nasmyth steam pile-hammer, 55, 56. 

Creosoting, protection of timber by, 248 ff.; description of process, 250 ff.; 
plant for, 253, 254; cost of, 254, 255. 

Cresy, three-handed beetle, 46; pile-lever, 58; bascule pump, 130, 131; 
experiments on obstruction by piers, 191 ff. 

Crib coffer dam after a flood, 29. 

Crib coffer-dams, 15 ff.; failure of, 25 ff. 

Cribs, early type of, 5; simple form of, 19; without puddle-chambers, 19; of 
old plank, 21 ff.; single- and double-walled, 30; and canvas, 32 ff.; 
polygonal,’43 ff.; for cylinder piers, 115 ff.; construction of, 122 ff. 

Crushing strength of various stones, 201, 202. 

Cubitt iron sheet-piling, 284. 


3° 2 


INDEX. 


Cumberland, Md., 79, 80. 

Curtis, W. W., 25. 

Cutting edges, vertical and inclined, 95. 

Cutwaters,. 30. 

Cuxhaven Harbor (Germany), metal sheet piles in, 107. 

Cylinder piers, 97 ff.; with diaphragm, 98, 101; shop practice for, hi ff.; 
for railway use, in; order diagram, 113; design of, 114 ff.; on soft 
bottom, 114; on hard bottom, 114; on grillage, 114; with crib, 115, 
116; on rock, 115; by open dredging, 117; for N. Pac. Ry., 117 ff.; 
for Fraser River Bridge, 122; Waddell’s method of open-dredged, 122 ff. 
Cylinders, metal, as casings for concrete, 96; for pivot piers, 97 ff.; pivot 
pier of clustered, 97; ornamental, 98; as coffer-dams, 98 ff.; strength 
of, 98 ff.; lighthouse, 98; calculation of, 99 ff.; and caissons, in ff 

Dams, Chanoine, on Great Kanawha River, 17. 

Danube River, Buda Pesth, suspension bridge over, 10 ff., 59; havoc wrought 
by ice in, n. 

De Cessart bull-wheel pile-driver, 48. 

Deer Island, Mass., coffer-dam at, 70, 71. 

Definition of coffer-dam, 15. 

Derrick, pile-driving, 48 ff.; double-drum guy, 160. 

Design of piers, see Pier design; also under Specifications, examples from. 
Diaphragm, cylinder piers with, 98, 101. 

Diaphragm-pumps, 133. 

Dipper dredges, 146 ff. 

Docks, construction of, at Victoria, B. C., 92. 

Double-cylinder pier, 97. 

Double-drum guy derrick, 160. 

Double-drum hoisting-engine, table of sizes, 295. 

Double-walled cribs and coffer-dams, 30. 

Douglas, Benj., 68. 

Draw pier, Northern Pac. Ry. Co , 117 ff. 

Dredges, 16, 143 ff. 

Dredging, cost of, 146. 

Dredging, pumping and, 130 ff. 

Dredging pumps, 93, 141 ff.; hydraulic, 278. 

Dredging-wells, 94, 95. 

Dubuat, M., 192. 

Dun, James, 153. 

Duwamish draw, Puget Sound Elec. Ry., 234. 

Edwards cataract pump, 143. 

Electric power, use of, 139, 161, 162. 


INDEX. 


3 ° 3 


Elevator dredges, 146. 

Ely, Prof., 242. 

Embankment, method of, 17. 

Encaissement, French, 2, 5. 

England, metal coffer-dams in, 94 n.; metal sheet-piling in, 283 ff. 

English vs. German cements, 215. 

Europe, architectural beauty of piers in, 189. 

European work, cylinder piers on, 98. 

Ewart cast-iron sheet-piles, 285, 286. 

Excavating on rivers, 16. 

Excavating-spoon, 16. 

Excavations, specifications for, 273. 

Experiments on obstruction caused by piers, 191 ff. 

Factors of safety for bridge and trestle timbers, 243 ff. 

Failure of crib coffer-dam, 25; probable cause of, 28. 

Failure with sheet-piles, 68 ff. 

Farnitz River, Germany, removal of pier in, by coffer-dam, 84 ff. 

Floating coffer-dam, 88 ff. 

Footing courses, designing, 212. 

Footing courses of Chillicothe highway bridge, 128. 

Formulas, for pile load, 57, 58; for pile thickness, 63 ff.; for timber columns, 
242. 

Fort Monroe, Va., sewerage system of, 74 ff. 

Forth Bridge, coffer-dams, 94 n., 101 ff.; granite pier, 102; pumping, 141. 
Foundation loads, values for, 176, 177. 

Foundation piles, loads on, 57, 58. 

Foundations, historical development, 1-14; relation to bridge design, 1 ff.; 
bridge piers and abutments, 1; ancient form of bridge, 1 ff.; four ancient 
methods of, 2 ff.; pile, 57 ff.; metal shells for, 94 ff.; steel sheeting for, 
108, 109; by pneumatic process, 123 ff.; construction, 149 ff. 

Founding, in water, four methods for, 2; of an inlet tower in the Mississippi 
for St. Louis water-works, 39 ff. 

Fowler, C. E., 221, 283. 

Fowler, Sir John, 101. 

Frazer, Cecil, 88. 

Frazer River, bridge over, at New Westminster, B. C., 122. 

Freestone, 196 ff. 

Friestedt metal sheet-piling, 107 ff., 283. 

Gadsden, Ala., removal of pier at, by coffer-dam, 87 ff. 

German vs. English cements, 215. 


INDEX. 


3°4 

Germany, metal sheet-piling in, 107. 

Glasgow, Hutcheson Bridge at, 7 ff., 59, 66. 

Government requirements, regarding piers, 182; for cement and concrete, 
221. 

Granite, 196 ff. 

Granite pier of Forth Bridge, 102 ff. 

Granite piers, circular, 102 ff. 

Grapples, 144. 

Gravel bottom, 149. 

Great Kanawha River, Chanoine dams on, 17; coffer-dam at Dam No. 11 
on, 17, 162. 

Grillage, coffer-dam on, 25; for cylinder piers, 114, 115. 

Guide-piles and guides, 66 ff., 84; loads on, 57, 58. 

Hall, Julian A., 48. 

Hammers, various types of Nasmyth, 52 ff. 

Hand-dredges, 16. 

Hand-drill and swab, 183. 

Hand-pumps, 132. 

Harbor work, sheet-piles in, 107 ff. 

Harper’s Ferry, coffer-dam of B. & O. R. R. at, 66, 74. 

Hartley, J. B., 284. 

Hay, use of, to secure tightness and stop leaks, 32. 

Hendy hydraulic elevator, 119, 120. 

Hering, Rudolph, 74. 

Heuer, Major W. H., 257. 

Hibbs, F. W., U. S. N., 244. 

Historical development of ordinary foundations, 1 ff. 

Hoist-engine, double-drum, 161. 

Hoisting-engine for mud-scraper, 16. 

Hoisting-engine, tables of sizes of, 294, 295. 

Horse-power, single-drum, 161. 

Hoxie, Major R. L., 18. 

Hungary, Szegedin Bridge in, 176. 

Hydraulic elevator, 119, 120; dredging and sand pumps, 293. 

Ice in Danube River, havoc wrought by, n. 

Ice, protection from, n, 12, 30, 192 ff. 

Illinois and Michigan Canal, concrete forms, 158; stone-crusher and con¬ 
crete-mixer, 159. 

Illinois and Mississippi Canal, monolithic concrete on, 156 ff. 

Illinois River, La Grange lock on, 73. 

Inch-Garvie piers, 101 ff. 


INDEX 


3°5 


Inlet tower in the Mississippi at St. Louis water works, 39. 

Iron, action of water on, 291, 292. 

Iron piles, 283 ff. 

Iron pile-shoes, 62. 

Jameson, C. D., 214. 

Japanese bamboo casings, 4. 

Jersey, Eng., quay wall in harbor of, 91. 

Jet pile-driver, 83. 

Johnson, A. L., 239. 

Joints between rock and iron belt, 104 ff. 

Jones, A. W., 123, 129. 

Jones, Major W. A., 80. 

Kankakee River, coffer-dam in, at Momence, Ill., 73. 

Karun Ri er, bridge at Shuster, Persia, over, 2. 

Katte, Walter, 273. 

Kaw River, bridge over, at Topeka, Kansas, 92, 93. 

Keepers, —, 92. 

Keokuk, Iowa, government work at, 35. 

Kinipple, W. R., 91. 

Knoxville, Tenn., concrete abutment, 228; parapets, 229; bridge erection, 230. 

La Grange lock on Illinois River, 73. 

Lancaster dredge, 144, 145. 

Landsell siphon-pump, 134. 

Lathes for turning stone, 211. 

Leaks in coffer-dams, 18, 30, 32 ff.; 70, 91 ff., 122. 

Le Fevre, H. P., 80. 

Leveling course, concrete, 150, 160. 

Lidgerwood pile-driving derrick, 50, 51; double-drum hoist-engine, 161; 

cableway carriage and skip, 162 ff.; single-drum hoist-engine, 294. 
Lift-pumps, 131 ff. 

Lighthouse cylinders, 98. 

Limestone, 196 ff. 

Little Bras d’Or River, C. B., bridge over, 97. 

Little Rock, Ark., coffer-dam and concrete piers for bridge at, 83 ff. 
Liverpool, metal sheet-piling in docks at, 284. 

Load on sheet-piling, 63 ff. 

Loads on guide and foundation piles, 57, 58. 

Location of piers, 182. 

London, bridge foundations in, 172; Westminster Bridge, 4; Blackfriars 
Bridge, 4; Charing Cross Bridge, 174; Cannon Street Bridge, 174; 
Tower Bridge, 174. 


3°6 


INDEX. 


Machinery for pile driving, 46 ff. 

Manure, use of, to secure tightness and stop leaks, 32, 38, 107. 

Marine animals, destruction of timber by, 248. 

Marshall, Major W. L., 73, 156. 

Maslin automatic vacuum-pump, 138. 

Masonry pier, removal of, 84 ff. 

Massachusetts, coffer dam used in Metropolitan sewerage systems of, 70, 71. 
Material for concrete, 221 ff. 

Materials, American Society for Testing, specifications for cement submitted 
to, 278-282. 

Mattresses, 4. 

McAlpine, W. J., 166. 

Meigs, Montgomery, 35. 

Melan-arch bridge at Topeka, Kans. (see Topeka). 

Memphis, Tenn., piers of cantilever bridge at, 174, 175. 

Mersereau, C. V., 40. 

Metal bucket for concreting, 152, 153. 

Metal coffer-dam and pier-base combined, 105, 106. 

Metal coffer-dams, 98 ff. 

Metal coffer-dams of Forth Bridge, 101 ff. 

Metal construction, 94 ff. 

Metal cylinders, calculation of, 99 ff. 

Metal lift-pump, 132. 

Metal piers, 94 ff. 

Metal sheet-piling, in Germany, 107 ff.; in U. S., 107 ff.; in England, 283 ff. 
Metal tube for concreting, 151, 152. 

Mich. Cent. Ry., piles used on, 59, 68; coffer-dam for Ann Arbor Bridge, 69. 
Milan, Duke of, 2. 

Mineralogical composition of stone, 201. 

Mississippi River Commission boring device, 185, 186. 

Mississippi River, mattresses used in bank revetment of, 4; bridge over, at 
Fort Madison, 25; inlet tower at St. Louis water-works, 39; Sandy 
Lake dam, 80 ff.; coffer-dam at St. Louis, 108; power-house at St. 
Louis, no. 

Missouri River, bridge over, at Bismarck, 168; Omaha Bridge over, 189, 
190. 

Momence, Ill., coffer-dam of C. & E. I. Ry. at, 73, 74. 

Monolithic concrete piers, 83 ff., 152 ff. 

Morison, G. S., 174, 188. 

Mud bottom, 149. 

Mud-scraper used on C. & M. V. Ry., 15, 16. 

Murphy, Martin, 97. 


INDEX . 


3° 7 


Nasmyth, James, 52 ff. 

Navigation pass of Dam No. n, Great Kanawha River, coffer dam for, 17. 
Neuilly, France, bridge at, 132. 

New Westminster, bridge over Fraser River at, 122. 

New \ork canals, pile-driving scow on, 52, 53, 58, 59; dipper dredges on, 
146 ff. 

New \ork City, rules from building laws of, 177 ff. 

New York harbor, dredging ship channel in, 143. 

Nier, J. W., 185. 

Northern Pac. Ry., cylinder pier of, 117 ff.; bridge of, at Bismarck, 168-170; 
at Raging River, 235-237. 


Oats, use of, to secure tightness and stop leaks, 32. 

Obstruction caused by piers, experiments on, 191 ff. 

Octagonal single-walled dam, 45. 

Ohio River, failure of crib coffer-dam on, 18; specifications for movable 
dams on, 257-267. 

Omaha, Union Pac. Ry. bridge at, 189. 

Order diagram for cylinder piers, 113. 

Orleans, France, bridge of, 47, 130. 

Ornamental piers, 98, 185. 

Osgood dipper dredges, 146 ff. 

Ottewell, A. D., 187. 

Passaic River, pile-driving in, 56. 

Pegram, Geo. FT., 23. 

Perronet pile-driver, 47; bascule pump, 130, 131. 

Peterson, Alex. P., 20. 

Philadelphia & Reading R. R., floating coffer-dam for bridge piers of, 80 ff. 

Pier-base combined with metal coffer-dam, 105 ff. 

Piers (see also Sheet-piling; Timber piers), and abutments of bridges, 1 ff.; 
bed-rock, 79; coffer-dams for repair or removal of, 84 ff.; tubular, 94, 
hi ff.; made tight by boiler-riveting, 94, 95; double cylinder, 97; orna¬ 
mental, 98, 185; granite, 102; calking timber work of, 122; location 
and design of, 182 ff.; location at fixed site, 182; at new site, 182; 
government requirements, 182; Morison’s, 188, 189; Russian, 189, 191; 
experiments on obstruction caused by, 191 ff.; correlation of theoretical 
form and architectural design, 194, 195; stone used for, 197 ff. 

Pile-driver, ancient, 5, 46; Perronet’s, 47; De Cessart’s, 48; simple form of 
derrick for, 48 ff. 

Pile-driving and sheet-piles, 46 ff. 

Pile-driving machinery, 146 ff. 


3°8 


INDEX. 


Pile-driving plant, cost of, 52; Sandy Lake, 82 ff. 

Pile driving scow in New York canals, 52, 53. 

Pile-hammer, Nasmyth’s, 52 ff. 

Pile-lever, Cresy’s, 58. 

Pile-load, Wellington’s formula for, 57, 58. 

Pile-pulling scow on New York canals, 58, 59. 

Pile-shoes, 62. 

Pile thickness, formula for, 63 ff. 

Piles (see also Sheet-piling; Timber piers), early use of, 4, 5; pulling and 
cutting off, under water, 57, 59, 98, 99; steel, 107 ff.; with concrete 
capping, 145. 

Piling in coffer-dams of Buda Pesth suspension bridge, 10 ff., 59. 

Piling, piers of, see Timber piers. 

Pivot pier, of Fort Madison Bridge, 25; of Harlem Ship Canal Bridge, 43; 
of bridge over Little Bras d’Or River, C. B., 97; of clustered cylinders, 

97 - 

Pivot piers, 25, 43, 97; cylinders for, 97 ff. 

Pneumatic caissons, 6, 123 ff. 

Polygonal dam, for pivot pier of Harlem Ship Canal Bridge, 43; for draw 
pier of Arthur Kill Bridge, 43 ff.; for sewerage system at Fort Monroe, 
74 ff- 

Portland cement, 213 ff.; specifications for, see under Specifications, selec¬ 
tions from. 

Portland-cement concrete, 225; specifications for, see under Specifications, 
selections from. 

Potomac River, B. & O. R. R. bridge over, at Harper’s Ferry, 66, 74. 

Powell, Major Chas. F., 226. 

Preservation of timber, see Timber piers. 

Pressure of bridges, 176. 

Pressure of water and puddle, 63 ff. 

Pressure on foundation bed of Washington Monument, 176. 

Proportions of concrete, 221. 

Prospecting-auger, 185. 

Puddle-chambers, 12, 66, 68. 

Puddle coffer-dam, 10 ff., 79 ff. 

Puddle, pressure of, 63. 

Puddle, triple, coffer-dam in 40 ft. of tide-water, 9 ff. 

Puget Sound, sea-wall of navy yard, 227; pile piers of Electric Ry., 232, 233; 

Duwamish draw, 234. 

Pulsometer steam-pumps, 135 ff. 

Pumping, amount of, indicates success, 130. 

Pumping and dredging, 130 ff. 


INDEX 


3°9 


Pumps, bascule, 130, 131; chapelet, 30, 132; hand, 132; wooden-box lift, 
131, 132; metal lift, 132; diaphragm, 133; Van Duzen jet, 133—135; 
steam siphon, 133-135; centrifugal, 134 ff.; vacuum, 135; pulsometer, 
135 ff.; Maslin automatic, 138, 143, 144; suction details for, 140; 
dredging, 141 ff.; Edwards cataract, type and capacity of, 141 ff.; 
methods of priming, 142; double-suction, 142; Heald and Cisco stand¬ 
ard iron horizontal, 277; H. & C. hydraulic dredging and sand, 278; 
number of revolutions of, required to raise water to different heights, 
278. 

Purdon, C. D., 21, 153. 

Putney, Eng., bridge at, 92. 

Quarrying, effect of method of, 204 ff.; granite, sandstone, marble, and lime¬ 
stone, 206 ff. 

Quay wall in harbor of St. Helier, Jersey (Eng.), 91, 92. 

Quicksand, steel sheeting for sinking mine-shafts through, 108. 

Rafter, Geo. W., 221. 

Railroad piers, tubes for, niff.; Russian, 189, 191. 

Railway location, Wellington on, 31. 

Railway Superintendents’ Association, report of, 239 ff. 

Reciprocating pumps, relative efficiency of, 138. 

Renwick, W. R., 40. 

Republican River, crossing of, in Kansas, 23. 

Reservoir coffer-dam, Fort Monroe, Va., 76. 

Reynolds, S. H., 18. 

Rhine River, Caesar’s Bridge over, 5, 46. 

Riegner, W. B., 91. 

Riga-Orel Ry. (Russia) bridge on the Aa, 98. 

Rivers, excavating on, 16. 

Roads, construction of, 2. 

Robinson circular dam, 25 ff., 60, 61. 

Robinson coffer-dam, 25 ff. 

Rochester, Court St. Bridge at, 165. 

Rock bottom, 149, 15°- 
Roebling, J. A., 168, 174. 

Roebling suspension bridge, 168 ff. 

Roman and other ancient foundations, 1 ff. 

Roman arch at Trezzo, 2. 

Roquefavour Aqueduct, France, rock foundations of, 17#. 

Russell, S. B., 40. . o 

Russia, bridge on the Aa, 98; beautiful railway piers in, 189, 191. 


3 IQ 


INDEX. 


Safety, factors of, for bridge and trestle timbers, 243. 

St. Helier, Jersey (Eng.), quay wall in harbor of, 91, 92. 

St. Lawrence River, crib used on, 20. 

St. L. & S. F. Ry., Red River bridge on, 153. 

St. Louis, coffer-dam at, 107, 108. 

Sand and gravel bottom, 189. 

Sand-diggers, 16, 145, 146. 

Sandstone, 196 ff. 

Sandy Lake dam, Mississippi River, 80 ff. 

Saone River, France, Boucicault Bridge over, 151. 

Sault Ste. Marie, leak in government lock at, 33, 92. 

Saumur, France, bridge of, 48. 

Saw for cutting off piles under water, 57, 58, 98, 99. 

Schuylkill River, floating coffer-dam for bridge piers in, 88 ff. 

Scott, Addison M., 17. 

Scraper for removing soft bottom, 15. 

Scraper, mud, used in C. & M. V. Ry., 15. 

Seattle, tests of cements by city of, 231. 

Sea-wall of Puget Sound navy yard, 227. 

Secretary of War, approval by, 182, 183. 

Serpentine form of bridge, 2. 

Sewerage system of Fort Monroe, Va., 74 ff. 

Sewer coffer-dam, 70, 71. 

Sinking caissons, method of, 127 ff. 

Siphon-pumps, steam, 133-135. 

Sites for piers, 182, 183. 

Sheeting, for quay walls, 91, 92; steel, for sinking mine-shafts through quick¬ 
sands, 108; for foundations of buildings, 108-110. 

Sheet-pile and puddle coffer-dam, 78 ff. 

Sheet-pile coffer-dam, arrangement and diagrams of sizes for, 64 ff.; frame¬ 
work and walls for, 79 ff. 

Sheet-pile, compound, 78; metal, 10 ’ ff., 283. 

Sheet-pile dam on pier of Arthur Kill Bridge, 60, 61. 

Sheet-pile hammer, improvised, 18. 

Sheet-piles, combinations of various forms, 60, 78; failure with, 68 ff.; driv¬ 
ing with water-jet, 83. 

Sheet-piling (see also Timber piers), early use of, 5; discussion, 46 ff.; forms 
of, 58 ff.; tongue-and-groove, 23, 59 ff.; Wakefield, 18, 23, 61, 62; 
formula for thickness of, 63 ff.; calculation for load on, 63 ff. 

Shells, steel, for foundation work, 94 ff.; calculation for weight of, 112. 

Ship canal bridge, Harlem, pivot pier, 43. 

Ship channel, N. Y. harbor, dredging, 143. 


INDEX. 


Shoes for sheet-piles, 62. 

Shuster, Persia, bridge at, 2, 3. 

Skewbacks, 2. 

Smiles, Samuel, quoted, 53. 

Smith, C. Shaler, 242. 

Soil, determination of bearing capacity of, 166. 

Span, economical length of, 187, 188; Ottwell’s formula for, 187, 188; B. 
& O. R. R. calculation for, 188. 

Specifications, for coffer-dams of Hutcheson Bridge, Glasgow, 8, 9; for 
cement, 215 ff. 

Specifications, selections from: 

Coffer-dams and foundations, Ohio River movable dams: general de¬ 
scription, 257; special descriptions, 257; coffer-dams, 258; material 
and workmanship, 259; excavation, 260; foundations, 261; masonry, 
261; rubble stone, 263; concrete, 264; timber in permanent construc¬ 
tion, 264; supervision and measurement of work, 265. 

Topeka (Kans.), Melan-arch bridge: piling in permanent work, 268; 
coffer-dams, 268; centering, 269; Portland cement, 269; Portland- 
cement concrete, 270; natural-cement concrete, 272; piers, abutments, 
and spandrels, 272; continuous work, 272; concrete in coffer-dams, 
272. 

Masonry (Katte’s specifications): excavations, 273; cement, 273; mortar, 
274; concrete, 274; foundations, 274; timber, 275. 

Steel coffer-dam: design, 276; material, 276; erection, 277; painting, 
277; sealing, 277; removal, 277. 

Cement (Am. Soc. for Testing Materials): general observations, 279; 
standard specifications, 280; natural cement, 281; Portland cement, 281. 

Specific gravity of building stone, 203. 

Speed of pumps, 294. 

Spoon-dredge, 16. 

Stanwood, Prof., 242. 

Staten Island, pier foundation of Arthur Kill Bridge on shore of, 68. 

Staves, circular coffer-dam of, 25. 

Steam pile-hammers, 52 ff. 

Steam-siphons, 133 ff. 

Steam well-driller, 184. 

Steel bridges, specifications for cement and concrete, 215 ff. 

Steel coffer-dam, specifications for, 276, 277. 

Steel piles, 107 ff.; sheeting for sinking mine-shafts through quicksand and 
for foundations of buildings, 108-110. 

Steel shells, thin, 94 ff. 

Stettin, removal of pier by coffer-dam in river Farnitz at, 84 ff. 


3 12 


INDEX. 


Stevenson, Robert, 7, 59. 

Stock-ramming, 91, 92. 

Stone arch bridge, Rochester, N. Y., 165. 

Stone piers, 102, 189 ff. 

Stone, used for piers, 196 ff.; quality, 198, 199; color, 199; subjected to 
change of temperature, 199, 200; effect of abrasion, 201; mineralogical 
composition of, 201; testing of, 201 ff.; crushing strength of, 201 ff.; 
tables of comparative strength of, 203-206; effect of method of quarry¬ 
ing, 204 ff.; methods of quarrying granite, sandstone, marble, and lime¬ 
stone, 206 ff.; cutting to size by saws, 209, 210; machines for planing 
and dressing, 211; lathes for turning, 211; methods of rubbing, 211. 

Stone-saws, 209, 210. 

Straw and stable manure, use of, to secure tightness and stop leaks, 32. 

Stresses, safe working unit, in bridge and trestle timbers, 246, 247. 

Struts, size and spacing of, 65 ff. 

Suction-pipe details, 140. 

Suction-pumps, 134 ff. 

Suspension bridge, at Buda Pesth, 10 ff.; Cincinnati, 168 ff.; Brooklyn, 174. 

Szechenyi, Count, n. 

Tarpaulins to secure water-tightness, 35 ff. 

Taylor, W. D., 152. 

Temperature, stone subjected to change of, 199, 200. 

Tennessee River, bridge over, at Chattanooga, 78, 79. 

Teredo-eaten pile, section, 249. 

Test-boring apparatus, 183 ff. 

Testing-machines, for general work, 201, 202; cement, 215, 216. 

Testing materials, Am. Soc. for, specifications for cement submitted to, 278- 
282. 

Testing of stone, 201 ff.; of cement and concrete, 215, 216. 

Tests of timber, 246 ff. 

Thames River, bridge over, at Putney, 92; metal sheet-piling in, 284 ff. 

Tide-water, coffer-dam in, 9, 10; triple puddle coffer-dam in, 40 ft. of, 9 ff. 

Thacher, Edwin, 78, 84, 92, 215, 221, 268. 

Timber piers and timber preservation, 232 ff.; construction of piers of piling 
and timber, 232 ff.; piling in fresh and in salt water, 232; pile piers, Puget 
Sound Elec. Ry., 232, 233; quality of piling and timber used, 235; cost 
of material, 235; Raging River Bridge piers, No. Pac. Ry., 235-237; 
obtaining the timber, 236; framing and erection, 236, 238; life of timber 
piers, 238; designing of piers of timber, 239; strength of timber, 239; 
report of Railway Superintendents’ Association, 239 ff.; formulae for 
timber columns, 242; factors of safety, 243; tables of ultimate strength 


INDEX. 


3 1 3 

of timber, 246, 247; Hibbs’ comparative tests of Douglass fir and yellow 
pine, 244 ff.; conclusions from tests, 245 IT.; short life of timber, 248; 
destruction by marine animals, 248; by wrappings, 248; protection 
afforded by bark, 248; action of teredo, 249; protection by creosoting, 
248; other methods of protection, 249; description of creosoting process. 
250 ff.; plant for creosoting, 253, 254; cost of creosoting, 254, 255; 
specifications for, see under Specifications, selections from. 

Timber, tables of ultimate strength of, 244, 245. 

1 

Tongue-and-groove sheet-piling, 23, 59 ff. 

Topeka, Kans., Melan-arch bridge at, 92, 93; pumping plant, 92, 93; 

cableway, 164; specifications for, 268-272. 

Towers, of Cincinnati suspension bridge, 170 ff.; of Brooklyn Bridge, 174. 
Trajan, bridge of, 46. 

Trezzo, span over Adda River at, 2. 

Tube weights and quantities, 112. 

Tubes for piers, manufacture and placing, niff. 

Tubular steel piers, 94, in ff. 

Union Elec. L. & P. Co., St. Louis, coffer-dam for power-house of, 108, no. 
Union Pac. Ry., tongue-and-groove sheet-piling used on, 23, 59, 60; pier 
of Omaha Eridge of, 189, 190. 

United States, dams in western, 19, 23, 25; metal sheet-piling in, 107 ff.; 
first Portland cement in, 213. 

Vacuum pumps, 135 ff. 

Van Duzen jet-pump, 133-1 35 - 
Victoria, B. C., docks at, 92. 

Vitruvius, mention of cement by, 213. 

Waddell, J. A. L., 117, 122. 

Wakefield system of sheet-piling, 18, 23, 61, 62, 71 ff. 

Wales and struts, size and spacing of, 65 ff. 

Walker, A. F., 67. 

Wardwell channeler, 207. 

Warrington-Nasmyth steam pile-hammer, 54, 55. 

Washington Monument, pressure on foundation-bed, 176. 

Water four methods of founding in, 2; uncertainty regarding construction 
under 29; sawing off piles under, 58, 98, 99; and puddle pressure, 63 
ff • concreting under, 150 if.; piling in fresh and in salt, 232 if.; pump 
revolutions required to raise, to different heights, 278; action of, on iron, 
201 292; excavation in, see under Specifications, Masonry. _ 
Water-jet, pile-driving by, 83; sinking tube by, 1x4; keeping pier plumb 

by, 119- 



3*4 


INDEX. 


Water-tight construction, 96 ff. 

Water-tightness secured by riveting, 94 ff. 

Webster, Geo. S., 25. 

Well-driller, steam, 184. 

Wellington, Arthur, quoted, 31; his formula for pile load v 57, 58. 
Well-timbers, 122, 123. 

Wet timber, formula for, 66. 

Wheeler, E. S., 33. 

Wheeler, L. L., 156. 

Wing-wall, specifications for, 272. 

Wooden-box lift-pumps, 131, 132. 

Wrapping, protection afforded timber by, 2480 


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point. 8vo, 

Ricketts and Russell’s Skeleton Notes upon Inorganic Chemistry. (Part I. 

Non-metallic Elements.).8vo, morocco, 

Ricketts and Miller’s Notes on Assaying..8vo, 

Rideal’s Sewage and the Bacterial Purification of Sewage.8vo, 

Disinfection and the Preservation of Food.8vo, 

Riggs’s Elementary Manual for the Chemical Laboratory.8vo, 

Robine and Lenglen’s Cyanide Industry. (Le Clerc.).8vo, 

Rostoski’s Serum Diagnosis. (Bolduan.).nmo, 

Ruddiman’s Incompatibilities in Prescriptions.8vo, 

* Whys in Pharmacy.i2mo, 

Sabin’s Industrial and Artistic Technology of Paints and Varnish.8vo, 

Salkowski’s Physiological and Pathological Chemistry. (Orndorff.).8vo, 

Schimpf’s Text-book of Volumetric Analysis. i2mo, 

Essentials of Volumetric Analysis.i2mo, 

* Qualitative Chemical Analysis.8vo, 

Spencer’s Handbook for Chemists of Beet-sugar Houses.i6mo, morocco, 

Handbook for Cane Sugar Manufacturers.i6mo, morocco, 

Stockbridge’s Rocks and Soils. 8v0 > 

* Tillman’s Elementary Lessons in Heat.8vo, 

* Descriptive General Chemistry.8vo, 

Treadwell’s Qualitative Analysis. (Hall.).8vo, 

Quantitative Analysis. (Hall.).8vo, 

Turneaure and Russell’s Public Water-supplies.8vo, 

Van Deventer’s Physical Chemistry for Beginners. (Boltwood.).i2mo, 

* Walke’s Lectures on Explosives. 8vo > 

Ware’s Beet-sugar Manufacture and Refining.Small 8vo, cloth, 

Washington’s Manual of the Chemical Analysis'of Rocks.• • .. 8vo - 

Wassermann’s Immune Sera: Haemolysins, Cytotoxins, and Precipitins. (Bol¬ 
duan.).;... I2 o m °’ 

Wells’s Laboratory Guide in Qualitative Chemical Analysis,.. ■ 8vo, 

Short Course in Inorganic Qualitative Chemical Analysis for Engineering 


00 

50 

50 

00 

00 

00 

50 

00 

50 ' 

oo- 

50 

OQ> 

25 - 

OO' 

2 OCT 


Students. 

Text-book of Chemical Arithmetic. 

Whipple’s Microscopy of Drinking-water. 

Wilson’s Cyanide Processes.*. 

Chlorination Process.. 

Winton’s Microscopy of Vegetable Foods. . .. 

Wulling’s Elementary Course in Inorganic, Pharmaceutical, 
Chemistry. 


and 


. . nmo, 
.. nmo, 
...8vo, 
. . nmo, 
. . nmo, 
. . . . 8vo, 
Medical 
.. nmo, 


75 
00 ■ 
50 ' 
00 > 

25; 

00 

00 

00 

00 

00 

50 

50 

25 

25 

00 

00 

50 

50 

00 

00 

00 

00 

50 

00 

00 

00 

00^ 

50 

50 ' 

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50 

50 

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5 


















































CIVIL ENGINEERING. 


BRIDGES AND ROOFS HYDRAULICS. MATERIALS OF ENGINEERING. 

RAILWAY ENGINEERING. 

Baker’s Engineers’ Surveying Instruments.i2mo, 3 go 

Bixby’s Graphical Computing Table.Paper 19^X24} inches. 25 

** Burr’s Ancient and Modern Engineering and the Isthmian Cana.. (Postage, 

27 cents additional.).8vo, 3.50 

Comstock’s Field Astronomy for Engineers.8vo, 2 50 

Davis’s Elevation and Stadia Tables.8vo, 1 00 

Elliott’s Engineering for Land Drainage.nmo, 1 50 

Practical Farm Drainage.nmo, 1 00 

*Fiebeger’s Treatise on Civil Engineering.8vo, 5 00 

Flemer’s Phototopographic Methods and Instruments.8vo, 5 00 

Folwell’s Sewerage. (Designing and Maintenance.).8vo, 3 00 

Freitag’s Architectural Engineering. 2d Edition, Rewritten.8vo, 3 50 

French and Ives’s Stereotomy.8vo, 2 50 

Goodhue's Municipal Improvements.nmo, x 75 

Goodrich’s Economic Disposal of Towns* Refuse.8vo, 3 50 

Gore’s Elements of Geodesy.8vo, 2 50 

Hayford’s Text-book of Geodetic Astronomy.8vo, 3 00 

Hering’s Ready Reference Tables (Conversion Factors).i6mo, morocco, 2 50 

Howe’s Retaining Walls for Earth.i2mo, 1 25 

Johnson’s (J. B.) Theory and Practice of Surveying.Small 8vo, 4 00 

Johnson’s (L. J.) Statics by Algebraic and Graphic Methods.8vo, 2 00 

Laplace’s Philosophical Essay on Probabilities. (Truscott and Emory.). nmo, 2 00 

Mahan’s Treatise on Civil Engineering. (1873.) (Wood.).8vo, 5 00 

* Descriptive Geometry.8vo, 1 50 

Merriman’s Elements of Precise Surveying and Geodesy.8vo, 2 50 

Merriman and Brooks’s Handbook for Surveyors.i6mo, morocco, 2 00 

Nugent’s Plane Surveying. 8vo, 3 50 

Ogden’s Sewer Design.i2mo, 2 00 

Patton’s Treatise on Civil Engineering.8vo half leather, 7 50 

Reed’s Topographical Drawing and Sketching.4to, 5 00 

Rideal’s Sewage and the Bacterial Purification of Sewage.8vo, 3 50 

Siebert and Biggin’s Modern Stone-cutting and Masonry.8vo, 1 50 

Smith’s Manual of Topographical Drawing. (McMillan.''.8vo, 2 50 

Sondericker’s Graphic Statics, with Applications to Trusses, Beams, and Arches. 

8vo, 2 00 

Taylor and Thompson’s Treatise on Concrete, Plain and Reinforced.8vo, 5 00 

* Trautwine’s Civil Engineer’s Pocket-book.i6mo, morocco, 5 00 

V/ait’s Engineering and Archi ectural Jurisprudence.8vo, 6 00 

Sheep, 6 50 

Law of Operations Preliminary to Construction in Engineering and Archi¬ 
tecture.8vo, s 00 

Sheep, 5 50 

Law of Contracts.8vo, 3 00 

Warren’s Stereotomy—Problems in Stone-cutting.8vo, 2 50 

Webb’s Problems in the Use and Adjustment of Engineering Instruments. 

i6mo, morocco, 1 25 

Wilson’s Topographic Surveying.8vo, 3 50 

BRIDGES AND ROOFS. 

Boiler’s Practical Treatise on the Construction of Iron Highway Bridges. .8vo, 2 00 

* Thames River Bridge.4to, paper, 5 00 

Burr’s Course on the Stresses in Bridges and Roof Trusses, Arched Ribs, and 

Suspension Bridges.8vo, 3 50 

G 









































Burr and Falk’s Influence Lines for Bridge and Roof Computations. . . 8vo, 3 00 

Design and Construction of Metallic Bridges...8vo, 5 00 

Du Bois’s Mechanics of Engineering. Vol. II.Small 4 to’, 10 00 

Foster’s Treatise on Wooden Trestle Bridges.4to, 5 00 

Fowler’s Ordinary Foundations.g vo> ’ 3 so 

Greene’s Roof Trusses. g vo ’ x 25 

Bridge Trusses. .S\o, 2 50 

Arches in Wood, Iron, and Stone.8vo, 2 50 

Howe’s Treatise on Arches.gvo, 4 GO 

Design of Simple Roof-trusses in Wood and Steel.8vo, 2 00 

Johnson, Bryan, and Turneaure’s Theory and Practice in the Designing of 

Modern Framed Structures.Small 4to, 10 00 

Merriman and Jacoby’s Text-book on Roofs and Bridges: 

Part I. Stresses in Simple Trusses.8vo, 2 50 

Bart II. Graphic Statics. . . .. 8vo, 2 50 

Part III. Bridge Design.g vo> 250 

Part IV. Higher Structures.8vo, 2 50 

Morison’s Memphis Bridge. 4 t 0 , 10 00 

Waddell’s De Pontibus, a Pocket-book for Bridge Engineers. .i6mo, morocco, 2 00 

*Specifications for Steel Bridges.i2mo, 50 

Wright’s Designing of Draw-spans. Two parts in one volume.8vo, 3 50 

HYDRAULICS. 

Bazin’s Experiments upon the Contraction of the Liquid Vein Issuing from 

an Orifice. (Trautwine.).8vo, 2 00 

Bovey’s Treatise on Hydraulics.8vo, 5 00 

Church’s Mechanics of Engineering.8vo, 6 00 

Diagrams of Mean Velocity of Water in Open Channels.paper, r 50 

Hydraulic Motors.8vo, 2 00 

Coffin’s Graphical Solution of Hydraulic Problems.i6mo, morocco, 2 50 

Flather’s Dynamometers, and the Measurement of Power.i2mo, 3 00 

Folwell’s Water-supply Engineering.8vo, 4 00 

Frizell’s Water-power.8vo, 5 00 

Fuertes’s Water and Public Health.i2mo, r 50 

Water-filtration Works.nmo, 2 50 

Ganguillet and Kutter’s General Formula for the Uniform Flow of Water in 

Rivers and Other Channels. (Hering and Trautwine.).8vo, 4 00 

Hazen’s Filtration of Public Water-supply.8vo, 3 00 

Hazlehurst’s Towers and Tanks for Water-works.8vo, 2 50 

Herschel’s 115 Experiments on the Carrying Capacity of Large, Riveted, Metal 

Conduits.8vo, 2 00 

Mason’s Water-supply. (Considered Principally from a Sanitary Standpoint.) 

8vo, 4 00 

Merriman’s Treatise on Hydraulics.8vo, 5 00 

* Michie’s Elements of Analytical Mechanics.8vo, 4 00 

Schuyler’s Reservoirs for Irrigation, Water-power, and Domestic Water- 

supply.Large 8vo, 5 00 

** Thomas and Watt’s Improvement of Rivers. (Post., 44c. additional.).4to, 6 00 

Turneaure and Russell’s Public Water-supplies.8vo, 5 00 

Wegmann’s Design and Construction of Dams.4to, 5 00 

Water-supply of the City of New York from 1658 to 1895.4to, 10 00 

Williams and Hazen’s Hydraulic Tables.8vo, 1 50 

Wilson’s Irrigation Engineering.Small 8vo, 4 00 

Wolff’s Windmill as a Prime Mover.8vo, 3 00 

Wood’s Turbines.8vo, 2 50 

Elements of Analytical Mechanics. 8vo, 3 00 


7 













































MATERIALS OF ENGINEERING. 


Baker’s Treatise on Masonry Construction.8vo, 5 00 

Roads and Pavements.8vo, 5 00 

Black’s United States Public Works.Oblong 4to, 5 00 

* Bovey’s Strength of Materials and Theory of Structures.8vo, 7 50 

Burr’s Elasticity and Resistance of the Materials of Engineering.8vo, 7 50 

Byrne’s Highway Construction.8vo, 5 00 

Inspection of the Materials and Workmanship Employed in Construction. 

i6mo, 3 00 

Church’s Mechanics of Engineering.8vo, 6 00 

Du Bois’s Mechanics of Engineering. Vol. I.Small 4to, 7 50 

*Eckei’s Cements, Limes, and Plasters.8vo, 6 00 

Johnson’s Materials of Construction.Large 8vo, 6 00 

Fowler’s Ordinary Foundations.8vo, 3 50 

* Greene’s Structural Mechanics.8vo, 2 50 

Keep's Cast Iron.8vo, 2 50 

Lanza’s Applied Mechanics.8vo, 7 50 

Marten’s Handbook on Testing Materials. (Henning.) 2 vols.8vo, 7 50 

Maurer’s Technical Mechanics.8vo, 4 00 

Merrill’s Stones for Building and Decoration. 8vo, 5 00 

Merriman’s Mechanics of Materials.8vo, 5 00 

Strength of Materials.i2mo, 1 00 

Metcalf’s Steel. A Manual for Steel-users.i2mo, 2 00 

Patton’s Practical Treatise on Foundations.8vo, 5 00 

Richardson’s Modern Asphalt Pavements.8vo, 3 00 

Richey’s Handbook for Superintendents of Construction...i6mo, mor., 4 00 

Rockwell’s Roads and Pavements in France.,.i2mo, 1 25 

Sabin’s Industrial and Artistic Technology of Paints and Varnish.8vo, 3 00 

Smith’s Materials of Machines.i2mo, 1 00 

Snow’s Principal Species of Wood.8vo, 3 50 

Spalding’s Hydraulic Cement. i2mo, 2 00 

Text-book on Roads and Pavements.i2nao, 2 00 

Taylor and Thompson’s Treatise on Concrete, Plain and Reinforced.8vo, 5 00 

Thurston’s Materials of Engineering. 3 Parts.8vo, 8 00 

Parti. Non-metallic Materials of Engineering and Metallurgy.8vo, 2 00 

Part II. Iron and Steel.8vo, 3 50 

Part III. A Treatise on Brasses, Bronzes, and Other Alloys and their 

Constituents.8vo, 2 50 

Thurston’s Text-book of the Materials of Construction.8vo, 5 00 

Tillson’s Street Pavements and Paving Materials.8vo, 4 00 

Waddell’s De Pontibus. (A Pocket-book for Bridge Engineers.). . i6mo, mor., 2 00 

Specifications for Steel Bridges.i2mo, 1 25 

Wood’s (De V.) Treatise on the Resistance of Materials, and an Appendix on 

the Preservation of Timber.‘..8vo, 2 00 

Wood’s (De V.) Elements of Analytical Mechanics.8vo, 3 00 

Wood’s (M. P.) Rustless Coatings: Corrosion and Electrolysis of Iron and 

Steel.8vo, 4 00 


RAILWAY ENGINEERING. 

Andrew’s Handbook for Street Railway Engineers.3x5 inches, morocco, 1 25 


Berg’s Buildings and Structures of American Railroads.4to, 5 00 

Brook’s Handbook of Street Railroad Location.i6mo, morocco. 1 50 

Butt’s Civil Engineer’s Field-book.i6mo, morocco, 2 50 

Crandall’s Transition Curve.i6mo, morocco, 1 50 

Railway and Other Earthwork Tables.8vo, 1 50 


Dawson’s “Engineering” and Electric Traction Pocket-book. . i6mo, morocco, 5 00 

8 















































Dredge’s History of the Pennsylvania Railroad: (1879).Paper, 

* Drinker s Tunnelling, Explosive Compounds, and Rock Drills.4to, half mor., 

Fisher’s Table of Cubic Yards.Cardboard, 

Godwin’s Railroad Engineers’ Field-book and Explorers’ Guide. . . i6mo, mor., 

Howard s Transition Curve Field-book...i6mo, morocco, 

Hudson s Tables for Calculating the Cubic Contents of Excavations and Em¬ 
bankments. 8vo, 

Molitor and Beard’s Manual for Resident Engineers.i6mo, 

Nagle s Field Manual for Railroad Engineers.i6mo, morocco, 

Philbrick s Field Manual for Engineers.i6mo, morocco, 

Searles s Field Engineering.i6mo, morocco, 

Railroad Spiral.i6mo, morocco, 

Taylor's Prismoidal Formula* and Earthwork.8vo, 

* Trautwine’s Method of Calculating the Cube Contents of Excavations and 

Embankments by the Aid of Diagrams.8vo, 

„ The Field Practice of Laying Out Circular Curves for Railroads. 


i2mo, morocco, 


Cross-section Sheet.Paper, 

Webb’s Railroad Construction.i6mo, morocco, 

Wellington’s Economic Theory of the Location of Railways.Small 8vo, 


5 00 
25 00 

25 

2 50 
x 50 

1 00 
1 00 

3 00 
3 00 
3*oo 
1 50 

1 50 

2 00 

2 50 

25 

5 00 
5 00 


DRAWING. 


Barr’s Kinematics of Machinery.8vo, 2 50 

* Bartlett’s Mechanical Drawing.8vo, 3 00 

* “ “ “ Abridged Ed.8vo, 150 

Coolidge’s Manual of Drawing.8vo, paper 1 00 

Coolidge and Freeman’s Elements of General Drafting for Mechanical Engi¬ 
neers.Oblong 4to, 2 50 

Durley’s Kinematics of Machines.8vo, 4 00 

Emch’s Introduction to Projective Geometry and its Applications.8vo, 2 50 

Hill’s Text-book on Shades and Shadows, and Perspective.8vo, 2 00 

Jamison’s Elements of Mechanical Drawing.8vo, 2 50 

Advanced Mechanical Drawing.8vo, 2 00 

Jones’s Machine Design: 

Parti. Kinematics of Machinery.8vo, 1 50 

Part II. Form, Strength, and Proportions of Parts.8vo, 3 00 

MacCord’s Elements of Descriptive Geometry.8vo, 3 00 

Kinematics; or, Practical Mechanism. 8vo, 5 00 

Mechanical Drawing.4to, 4 00 

Velocity Diagrams.8vo, 1 50 

MacLeod’s Descriptive Geometry.Small 8vo, 1 50 

* Mahan’s Descriptive Geometry and Stone-cutting.8vo, 1 50 

Industrial Drawing. (Thompson.).8vo, 3 50 

Moyer’s Descriptive Geometry.•.8vo, 2 00 

Reed’s Topographical Drawing and Sketching.4to, 5 00 

Reid’s Course in Mechanical Drawing.8vo, 2 00 

Text-book of Mechanical Drawing and Elementary Machine Design.8vo, 3 00 

Robinson’s Principles of Mechanism. 8vo, 3 00 

Schwamb and Merrill’s Elements of Mechanism.8vo, 3 00 

Smith’s (R. S.) Manual of Topographical Drawing. (McMillan.).8vo, 2 50 

Smith (A. W.) and Marx’s Machine Design.8vo, 3 00 

Warren’s Elements of Plane and Solid Free-hand Geometrical Drawing, nmo, 1 00 

Drafting Instruments and Operations.i2mo, 1 25 

Manual of Elementary Projection Drawing.i2mo, 1 50 

Manual of Elementary Problems in the Linear Perspective of Form and 

Shadow.nmo, 1 00 

Plane Problems in Elementary Geometry. nmo, x 25 

9 














































Warren’s Primary Geometry.i2mo, 

Elements of Descriptive Geometry, Shadows, and Perspective.8vo, 

General Problems of Shades and Shadows.8vo, 

Elements of Machine Construction and Drawing.8vo, 

Problems, Theorems, and Examples in Descriptive Geometry.8vo, 

Weisbach’s Kinematics 'and Power of Transmission. (Hermann and 

Klein.).8vo, 

Whelpley’s Practical Instruction in the Art of Letter Engraving.i2mo, 

Wilson's (H. M.) Topographic Surveying.8vo, 

Wilson’s (V. T.) Free-hand Perspective.8vo, 

Wilson’s (V. T.) Free-hand Lettering.8vo, 

Woolf’s Elementary Course in Descriptive Geometry.Large 8vo, 


ELECTRICITY AND PHYSICS. 

Anthony and Brackett’s Text-book of Physics. (Magie.).Small 8vo, 

Anthony’s Lecture-notes on the Theory of Electrical Measurements. . . . i2mo, 

Benjamin’s History of Electricity.. 8vo, 

Voltaic Cell.8vo, 

Classen’s Quantitative Chemical Analysis by Electrolysis. (Boltwood.). 8vo, 

Crehore and Squier’s Polarizing Photo-chronograph.8vo, 

Dawson’s “Engineering” and Electric Traction Pocket-book. i6mo, morocco, 
Dolezalek’s Theory of the Lead Accumulator (Storage Battery). (Von 

Ende.).i2mo, 

Duhem’s Thermodynamics and Chemistry. (Burgess.).8vo, 

Flather’s Dynamometers, and the Measurement of Power.i2mo, 

Gilbert’s De Magnete. (Mottelay.).8vo, 

Hanchett’s Alternating Currents Explained.i2mo, 

Hering’s Ready Reference Tables (Conversion Factors).i6mo, morocco, 

Holman’s Precision of Measurements.. . .8vo, 

Telescopic Mirror-scale Method, Adjustments, and Tests. . . .Large 8vo, 

Xinzbrunner’s Testing of Continuous-current Machines.8vo, 

Landauer’s Spectrum Analysis. (Tingle.).8vo, 

Le Chatelier s High-temperature Measurements. (Boudouard—Burgess.) i2mo, 
Lob’s Electrochemistry of Organic Compounds. (Lorenz.).8vo, 

* Lyons’s Treatise on Electromagnetic Phenomena. Vols. I. and II. 8vo, each, 

* Michie’s Elements of Wave Motion Relating to Sound and Light.8vo, 

Niaudet’s Elementary Treatise on Electric Batteries. (Fishback.).i2mo, 

* Rosenberg’s Electrical Engineering. (Haldane Gee—Kinzbrunner.). . .8vo, 

Ryan, Norris, and Hoxie’s Electrical Mzchinery. Vol. 1 .8vo, 

Thurston’s Stationary Steam-engines.8vo, 

* Tillman’s Elementary Lessons in Heat.8vo, 

Tory and Pitcher’s Manual of Laboratory Physics.Small 8vo, 

Ulke’s Modern Electrolytic Copper Refining.8vo, 


LAW. 


* Davis’s Elements of Law.8vo, 

* Treatise on the Military Law of United States.8vo, 

* Sheep, 

Manual for Courts-martial.i6mo, morocco, 

Wait’s Engineering and Architectural Jurisprudence.8vo, 

Sheep, 

Law of Operations Preliminary to Construction in Engineering and Archi¬ 
tecture.8vo 

Sheep, 

Law of Contracts.8vo, 

Winthrop’s Abridgment of Military Law.i2mo s 


10 









































MANUFACTURES. 


Bernadou’s Smokeless Powder—Nitro-cellulose and Theory of the Cellulose 

Molecule. 

Bolland’s Iron Founder. 


Effront’s Enzymes and their Applications. 



2 

O 

\n 


2 

50 


2 

50 

d in the 




3 

00 


6 

00 


4 

00 


3 

00 


X 

00 


I 

00 


3 

00 


2 

50 


Control.Large 8vo, 7 50 

* McKay and Larsen’s Principles and Practice of Butter-making.8vo, 1 50 

Matthews’s The Textile Fibres.8vo, 3 50 

Metcalf’s Steel. A Manual for Steel-users.nmo, 2 00 

Metcalfe’s Cost of Manufactures—And the Administration of Workshops.8vo, 5 00 

Meyer’s Modern Locomotive Construction. 4to, 10 00 

Morse’s Calculations used in Cane-sugar Factories.i6mo, morocco, 1 50 

* Reisig’s Guide to Piece-dyeing.8vo, 25 00 

Sabin’s Industrial and Artistic Technology of Paints and Varnish.8vo, 3 00 

Smith’s Press-working of Metals.8vo, 3 00 

Spalding’s Hydraulic Cement.i2mo, 2 00 

Spencer’s Handbook for Chemists of Beet-sugar Houses.i6mo, morocco, 3 00 

Handbook for Cane Sugar Manufacturers.i6mo, morocco, 3 00 

Taylor and Thompson’s Treatise on Concrete, Plain and Reinforced.8vo, 5 00 

Thurston’s Manual of Steam-boilers, their Designs, Construction and Opera¬ 
tion.8vo, 5 00 

* Walke’s Lectures on Explosives.8vo, 4 00 

Ware’s Beet-sugar Manufacture and Refining.Small 8vo, 4 00 

West’s American Foundry Practice.i2mo, 2 50 

Moulder’s Text-book.i2mo, 2 50 

Wolff’s Windmill as a Prime Mover.8vo, 3 00 

Wood’s Rustless Coatings: Corrosion and Electrolysis of Iron and Steel. ,8vo, 4 00 


MATHEMATICS. 


Baker’s Elliptic Functions.8vo, 1 50 

* Bass’s Elements of Differential Calculus.i2mo, 4 00 

Briggs’s Elements of Plane Analytic Geometry.nmo, 1 00 

Compton’s Manual of Logarithmic Computations.i2mo, 1 50 

Davis’s Introduction to the Logic of Algebra.8vo, x 50 

* Dickson’s College Algebra.Large nmo, 1 50 

* Introduction to the Theory of Algebraic Equations.Large i2mo, 1 25 

Emch’s Introduction to Projective Geometry and its Applications.8vo, 2 50 

Halsted’s Elements of Geometry.8vo, 1 75 

Elementary Synthetic Geometry.8vo, 1 50 

Rational Geometry.i2mo, 1 75 


* Johnson’s (J. B.) Three-place Logarithmic Tables: Vest-pocket size.paper, 15 

100 copies for 5 00 

* Mounted on heavy cardboard, 8X10 inches, 25 

10 copies for 2 00 

Johnson’s (W. W.) Elementary Treatise on Differential Calculus. Small 8 vo, 3 00 

Elementary Treatise on the Integral Calculus.Small 8vo, 1 50 

11 











































Johnson’s (W. W.) Curve Tracing in Cartesian Co-ordinates.nmo, i oo 

Johnson’s (W. W.) Treatise on Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations. 

Small 8vo, 3 50 

Johnson’s (W. W.) Theory of Errors and the Method of Least Squares. i2mo, 1 50 

* Johnson’s (W. W.) Theoretical Mechanics.i2mo, 3 00 

Laplace’s Philosophical Essay on Probabilities. (Truscott and Emory.). i2mo, 2 00 

* Ludlow and Bass. Elements of Trigonometry and Logarithmic and Other 

Tables.8vo, 3 00 

Trigonometry and Tables published separately.Each, 2 00 

* Ludlow’s Logarithmic and Trigonometric Tables.8vo, 1 00 

Mathematical Monographs. Edited by Mansfield Merriman and Robert 

S. Woodward.Octavo, each 1 00 

No. 1. History of Modern Mathematics, by David Eugene Smith. 

No. 2. Synthetic Projective Geometry, by George Bruce Halsted. 

No. 3. Determinants, by Laenas Gifford Weld. No. 4. Hyper¬ 
bolic Functions, by James McMahon. No. 5. Harmonic Func¬ 
tions, by William E. Byerly. No. 6. Grassmann’s Space Analysis, 
by Edward W. Hyde. No. 7. Probability and Theory of Errors, 
by Robert S. Woodward. No. 8. Vector Analysis and Quaternions, 
by Alexander Macfarlane. No. 9. Differential Equations, by 
William Woolsey Johnson. No. 10. The Solution of Equations, 
by]Mansfield Merriman. No. n. Functions of a Complex Variable, 
by Thomas S. Fiske. 

Maurer’s Technical Mechanics.8vo, 4 00 

Merriman’s Method of Least Squares.8vo, 2 00 

Rice and Johnson’s Elementary Treatise on the Differential Calculus.. Sm. 8vo, 3 00 

Differential and Integral Calculus. 2 vols. in one.Small 8vo, 2 50 

Wood’s Elements of Co-ordinate Geometry.8vo, 2 00 

Trigonometry: Analytical, Plane, and Spherical.nmo, 1 00 

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING. 

MATERIALS OF ENGINEERING, STEAM-ENGINES AND BOILERS. 


Bacon’s Forge Practice.i2mo, 1 50 

Baldwin’s Steam Heating for Buildings.nmo, 2 50 

Barr’s Kinematics of Machinery.8vo, 2 50 

* Bartlett’s Mechanical Drawing.8vo, 3 00 

* “ “ “ Abridged Ed.8vo, 1 50 

Benjamin’s Wrinkles and Recipes. nmo, 2 00 

Carpenter’s Experimental Engineering.8vo, 6 00 

Heating and Ventilating Buildings.8vo, 4 00 

Cary’s Smoke Suppression in Plants using Bituminous Coal. (In Prepara¬ 
tion.) 

Clerk’s Gas and Oil Engine.Small 8vo, 4 00 

Coolidge’s Manual of Drawing.8vo, paper, 1 00 

Coolidge and Freeman’s Elements of General Drafting for Mechanical En¬ 
gineers.. .Oblong 4to, 2 50 

Cromwell’s Treatise on Toothed Gearing.i2mo, 1 50 

Treatise oh Belts and Pulleys.nmo, 1 50 

Durley’s Kinematics of Machines.8vo, 4 00 

Flathef’s Dynamometers and the Measurement of Power.nmo, 3 00 

Rope Driving.nmo, 2 00 

Gill’s Gas and Fuel Analysis for Engineers.nmo, 1 25 

Hall’s Car Lubrication.nmo, 1 00 

Hering’s Ready Reference Tables (Conversion Factors).i6mo, morocco, 2 50 

12 
































Hutton’s The Gas Engine. g V0; 5 OQ 

Jamison’s Mechanical Drawing.",. g V0) 2 g 0 

Jones’s Machine Design: 

Parti. Kinematics of Machinery. 8vo, i 50 

Part II. Form, Strength, and Proportions of Parts.8vo, 300 

Kents Mechanical Engineers’ Pocket-book.i6mo, morocco, 5 00 

Kerr’s Power and Power Transmission.8vo, 2 00 

Leonard’s Machine Shop, Tools, and Methods.8vo, 4 00 

* Lorenz’s Modern Refrigerating Machinery. (Pope, Haven, and Dean.) . . 8vo, 4 00 

MacCord’s Kinematics; or, Practical Mechanism.8vo, 500 

Mechanical Drawing. 4 to, 4 00 

Velocity Diagrams.8vo, 1 50 

MacFarland’s Standard Reduction Factors for Gases.•.8vo, 1 50 

Mahan’s Industrial Drawing. (Thompson.).8vo, 350 

Poole’s Calorific Power of Fuels.8vo, 3 00 

Reid’s Course in Mechanical Drawing.8vo, 2 00 

Text-book of Mechanical Drawing and Elementary Machine Design . 8vo, 3 00 

Richard’s Compressed Air.nmo, 1 50 

Robinson’s Principles of Mechanism.8vo, 3 00 

Schwamb and Merrill’s Elements of Mechanism.8vo, 3 00 

Smith’s (O.) Press-working of Metals.8vo, 3 00 

Smith (A. W.) and Marx’s Machine Design.8vo, 3 00 

Thurston’s Treatise on Friction and Lost Work in Machinery and Mill 

Work.8vo, 3 00 

Animal as a Machine and Prime Motor, and the Laws of Energetics. i2mo, 1 00 

Warren’s Elements of Machine Construction and Drawing.8vo, 7 50 

Weisbach’s Kinematics and the Power of Transmission. (Herrmann— 

Klein.).8vo, 5 00 

Machinery of Transmission and Governors. (Herrmann—Klein.). . 8vo, 5 00 

Wolff’s Windmill as a Prime Mover.8vo, 3 00 

Wood’s Turbines.8vo, 2 50 


MATERIALS OP ENGINEERING. 

* Bovey’s Strength of Materials and Theory of Structures.8vo, 7 50 

Burr’s Elasticity and Resistance of the Materials of Engineering. 6th Edition. 

Reset.8vo, 7 50 

Church’s Mechanics of Engineering.8vo, 6 00 

* Greene’s Structural Mechanics.8vo, 2 50 

Johnson’s Materials of Construction.8vo, 6 00 

Keep’s Cast Iron.8vo, 2 50 

Lanza’s Applied Mechanics.8vo, 7 50 

Martens’s Handbook on Testing Materials. (Henning.).8vo, 7 50 

Maurer’s Technical Mechanics..8vo, 4 00 

Merriman’s Mechanics of Materials.8vo, 5 00 

Strength of Materials.i2mo, 1 00 

Metcalf’s Steel. A manual for Steel-users.i2mo, 200 

Sabin’s Industrial and Artistic Technology of Paints and Varnish.8vo, 3 00 

Smith’s Materials of Machines.i2mo, 1 00 

Thurston’s Materials of Engineering.3 vols., 8vo, 8 00 

Part II. Iron and Steel.8vo, 3 50 

Part III. A Treatise on Brasses, Bronzes, and Other Alloys and their 

Constituents.® v0 * 2 50 

Text-book of the Materials of Construction.8vo, 5 00 

Wood’s (De V.) Treatise on the Resistance of Materials and an Appendix on 

the Preservation of Timber. 8vo, 2 00 


13 














































Wood’s (De V.) Elements of Analytical Mechanics.8vo, 3 00 

Wood’s (M. P.) Rustless Coatings: Corrosion and Electrolysis of Iron and 

Steel.8vo, 4 00 

STEAM-ENGINES AND BOILERS. 

Berry’s Temperature-entropy Diagram.nmo, 1 25 

Carnot’s Reflections on the Motive Power of Heat. (Thurston.).i2mo, 1 50 

Dawson’s “Engineering” and Electric Traction Pocket-book. . . .i6mo, mor., 5 00 

Ford’s Boiler Making for Boiler Makers.i8mo, 1 00 

Goss’s Locomotive Sparks.8vo, 2 00 

Hemenway’s Indicator Practice and Steam-engine Economy.i2mo, 2 00 

Hutton’s Mechanical Engineering of Power Plants.8vo, 5 00 

Heat and Heat-engines.8vo, 5 00 

Kent’s Steam boiler Economy.8vo, 4 00 

Kneass’s Practice and Theory of the Injector.8vo, 1 50 

MacCord’s Slide-valves.8vo, 2 00 

Meyer’s Modern Locomotive Construction.4to, 10 oc 

Peabody’s Manual of the Steam-engine Indicator.i2mo. 1 50 

Tables of the Properties of Saturated Steam and Other Vapors .8vo, 1 00 

Thermodynamics of the Steam-engine and Other Heat-engines.8vo, 5 00 

Valve-gears for Steam-engines. 8vo, 2 50 

Peabody and Miller’s Steam-boilers.8vo, 4 00 

Pray’s Twenty Years with the Indicator.Large 8vo, 2 50 

Pupin’s Thermodynamics of Reversible Cycles in Gases and Saturated Vapors. 

(Osterberg.).nmo, 1 25 

Reagan’s Locomotives: Simple Compound, and Electric.nmo, 2 50 

Rontgen’s Principles of Thermodynamics. (Du Bois.).8vo, 5 00 

Sinclair’s Locomotive Engine Running and Management.nmo, 2 00 

Smart’s Handbook of Engineering Laboratory Practice.nmo, 2 50 

Snow’s Steam-boiler Practice.8vo, 3 00 

Spangler’s Valve-gears.8vo, 2 50 

Notes on Thermodynamics. nmo, 1 00 

Spangler, Greene, and Marshall’s Elements of Steam-engineering.8vo, 3 00 

Thomas’s Steam-turbines.8vc% 3 50 

Thurston’s Handy Tables.8vo, 1 50 

Manual of the Steam-engine.2 vols., 8vo, 10 00 

Parti. History, Structure, and Theory.8vo, 6 00 

Part II. Design, Construction, and Operation.8vo, 6 00 

Handbook of Engine and Boiler Trials, and the Use of the Indicator and 

the Prony Brake.8vo, 5 00 

Stationary Steam-engines.8vo, 2 50 

Steam-boiler Explosions in Theory and in Practice.nmo, 1 50 

Manual of Steam-boilers, their Designs, Construction, and Operation.8vo, 5 00 

Weisbach’s Heat, Steam, and Steam-engines. (Du Bois.).8vo, 5 00 

Whitham’s Steam-engine Design.8vo, 5 00 

Wood’s Thermodynamics, Heat Motors, and Refrigerating Machines. . .8vo, 4 00 

MECHANICS AND MACHINERY. 

Barr’s Kinematics of Machinery.8vo, 2 50 

* Bovey’s Strength of Materials and Theory of Structures .8vo, 750 

Chase’s The Art of Pattern-making.i2mo, 2 50 

Church’s Mechanics of Engineering.8vo, 6 00 

Notes and Examples in Mechanics.8vo, 2 00 

Compton’s First Lessons in Metal-working.i2mo, 1 50 

Compton and De Groodt’s The Speed Lathe .i2mo 1 50 

14 
















































i2mo, 

nmo, 


Cromwell’s Treatise on Toothed Gearing. 

Treatise on Belts and Pulleys. 

Dana’s Text-hook; of Elementary Mechanics for Colleges and Schools] i^mo. 
Dingey s Machinery Pattern Making. I2mo 

Dredge’s Record of the Transportation Exhibits Building of the World’s 

.p. t} • t C ®l umbian Exposition of 1893. 4 to half morocco, 

Du Bois s Elementary Principles of Mechanics: 

Vol. I. Kinematics. o 

Voi. n: statics. l™* 

Mechanics of Engineering. Vol. I... . . . . .Small 4 to’ 

Vol. II.Small 4 to, 

Durley s Kinematics of Machines. g vo> 

Fitzgerald’s Boston Machinist. i6mo,* 

Flather’s Dynamometers, and the Measurement of Power.i2mo, 

Rope Driving. ...]]] ]i 2 mo, 

Goss’s Locomotive Sparks. .. g vo< 

* Greene’s Structural Mechanics. g vo> 

Hall’s Car Lubrication. i2mo, 

Holly’s Art of Saw Filing.i8mo! 

James’s Kinematics of a Point and the Rational Mechanics of a Particle. 

Sma.l 8vo, 

* Johnson’s (W. W.) Theoretical Mechanics.i2mo, 

Johnson’s (L. J.) Statics by Graphic and Algebraic Methods.8vo, 

Jones’s Machine Design: 

Part I. Kinematics of Machinery.8vo, 

Part II. Form, Strength, and Proportions of Parts.8vo, 

Kerr’s Power and Power Transmission.8vo, 

Lanza’s Applied Mechanics.8vo, 

Leonard’s Machine Shop, Tools, and Methods.8vo, 

* Lorenz’s Modern Refrigerating Machinery. (Pope, Haven, and Dean.).8vo, 

MacCord’s Kinematics; or, Practical Mechanism.8vo, 

Velocity Diagrams.8vo, 

Maurer’s Technical Mechanics.8vo, 

Merriman’s Mechanics of Materials.8vo, 

* Elements of Mechanics. i2mo, 

* Michie’s Elements of Analytical Mechanics.8vo, 

Reagan’s Locomotives: Simple, Compound, and Electric.i2mo, 

Reid’s Course in Mechanical Drawing.8vo, 

Text-book of Mechanical Drawing and Elementary Machine Design . 8vo, 

Richards’s Compressed Ain.nmo, 

Robinson’s Principles of Mechanism.8vo, 

Ryan, Norris, and Hoxie’s Electrical Machinery. Vol. 1 .8vo, 

Schwamb and Merrill’s Elements of Mechanism.8vo, 

Sinclair’s Locomotive-engine Running and Management.nmo, 

Smith’s (O.) Press-working of Metals ..8vo, 

Smith’s (A. W.) Materials of Machines.nmo, 

Smith (A. W.) and Marx’s Machine Design.8vo, 

Spangler, Greene, and Marshall’s Elements of Steam-engineering.8vo, 

Thurston’s Treatise on Friction and Lost Work in Machinery and Mill 

Work.8vo, 

Animal as a Machine and Prime Motor, and the Laws of Energetics. 


Machinery of Transmission and Governors. 


1 50 
' 50 

1 50 

2 00 

5 00 

3 50 

4 00 
7 50 

10 00 
4 00 

1 

3 

2 
2 
2 
1 


00 

00 

00 

00 

50 

00 

75 


2 00 

3 00 
2 00 


1 

3 

2 

7 

4 


50 
00 
00 
50 
00 

4 00 

5 00 
50 
00 
00 
00 

OG 
50 
OO 
00 
50 
00 
50 

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00 
00 
00 
00 
00 


3 00 


nmo, 

1 

00 


7 

50 

—Klein.). 8vo, 

5 

00 

—Klein.) .8vo, 

5 

00 


3 

00 


1 

25 


2 

50 


I 

00 


15 
















































METALLURGY, 


Egleston’s Metallurgy of Silver, Gold, and Mercury: 

Vol. I. Silver.8vo, 7 50 

Vol. II. Gold and Mercury.8vo, 7 50 

** Ues’s Lead-smelting. (Postage 9 cents additional.).i2mo, 2 50 

Keep’s Cast Iron.8vo, 2 50 

Kunhardt’s Practice of Ore Dressing in Europe.8vo, 1 50 

Le Chatelier’s High-temperature Measurements. (Boudouard—Burgess.)i2mo. 3 00 

Metcalf’s Steel. A Manual for Steel-users.i2mo, 2 00 

Minet’s Production of Aluminum and its Industrial Use. (Waldo.)... .i2mo, 2 50 

Robine and Lenglen’s Cyanide Industry. (Le Clerc.).8vo, 4 00 

Smith’s Materials of Machines.i2mo, 1 00 

Thurston’s Materials of Engineering. In Three Parts.8vo, 8 00 

Part II. Iron and Steel.8vo, 3 50 

Part III. A Treatise on Brasses, Bronzes, and Other Alloys and their 

Constituents.8vo, 2 50 

Ulke’s Modern Electrolytic Copper Refining.8vo, 3 00 


MINERALOGY. 


Barringer’s Description of Minerals of Commercial Value. Oblong, morocco, 2 50 

Boyd’s Resources of Southwest Virginia.8vo, 3 00 

Map of Southwest Virignia.Pocket-book form. 2 00 

Brush’s Manual of Determinative Mineralogy. (Penfield.).8vo, 4 00 

Chester’s Catalogue of Minerals.8vo, paper, 1 00 

Cloth, 1 25 

Dictionary of the Names of Minerals...8vo, 3 50 

Dana’s System of Mineralogy.Large 8vo, half leather, 12 50 

First Appendix to Dana’s New “ System of Mineralogy.”.Large 8vo, 1 00 

Text-book of Mineralogy..-.8vo, 4 00 

Minerals and How to Study Them.i2mo, 1 50 

Catalogue of American Localities of Minerals.Large 8vo, 1 00 

Manual of Mineralogy and Petrography.i2mo, 2 00 

Douglas’s Untechnical Addresses on Technical Subjects.i2mo, 1 00 

Eakle’s Mineral Tables.8vo, 1 25 

Egleston’s Catalogue of Minerals and Synonyms.8vo, 2 50 

Hussak’s The Determination of Rock-forming Minerals. (Smith.).Small 8vo, 2 00 
Merrill’s Non-metallic Minerals: Their Occurrence and Uses.8vo, 400 

* Penfield’s Notes on Determinative Mineralogy and Record of Mineral Tests. 

8vo, paper, 50 

Rosenbusch’s Microscopical Physiography of the Rock-making Minerals. 

(Iddings.).8vo, 5 00 

* Tillman’s Text-book of Important Minerals and Rocks.8vo, 2 00 


MINING. 


Beard’s Ventilation of Mines.i2mo, 2 50 

Boyd’s Resources of Southwest Virginia. £vo 3 00 

Map of Southwest Virginia.Pocket-book form 2 00 

Douglas’s Untechnical Addresses on Technical Subjects.i2mo 1 00 

* Drinker’s Tunneling, Explosive Compounds, and Rock Drills. .4to,hf. mor., 23 00 
Eissler’s Modern High Explosives.8vo 4 00 


16 





































Goodyear’s Coal-mines of the V estern Coast of the United States.i2mo, 2 50 

Ihlseng s Manual of IMining.... Svo> 5 00 

** Iles’s Lead-smelting. (Postage pc. additional.).nmo, 2 50 

Kunhardt’s Practice of Ore Dressing in Europe.8vo, 1 50 

O’Driscoll’s Notes on the Treatment of Gold Ores.8vo, 2 00 

Robine and Lenglen’s Cyanide Industry. (Le Clerc.).8vo, 4 00 

* Walke’s Lectures on Explosives.8vo, 4 00 

Wilson’s Cyanide Processes.i2mo, 1 50 

Chlorination Process...nmo, 1 50 

Hydraulic and Placer Mining..nmo, 2 00 

Treatise on Practical and Theoretical Mine Ventilation.nmo, 1 25 

SANITARY SCIENCE. 

Bashore’s Sanitation ef a Country House.nmo, 1 00 

Folwell’s Sewerage. (Designing, Construction, and Maintenance.).8vo, 3 00 

Water-supply Engineering.8vo, 4 00 

Fowler’s Sewage Works Analyses.nmo, 2 00 

Fuertes’s Water and Public Health.nmo, 1 50 

Water-filtration Works.nmo, 2 50 

Gerhard’s Guide to Sanitary House-inspection.i6mo, 1 00 

Goodrich’s Economic Disposal of Town’s Refuse.Demy8vo, 3 50 

Hazen’s Filtration of Public Water-supplies.8vo, 3 00 

Leach’s The Inspection and Analysis of Food with Special Reference to State 

Control.8vo, 7 50 

Mason’s Water-supply. (Considered principally from a Sanitary Standpoint) 8vo, 4 00 

Examination of Water. (Chemical and Bacteriological.).i2mo, 1 25 

Ogden’s Sewer Design...nmo, 2 00 

Prescott and Winslow’s Elements of Water Bacteriology, with Special Refer¬ 
ence to Sanitary Water Analysis. . ...nmo, 1 25 

* Price’s Handbook on Sanitation.nmo, 1 50 

Richards’s Cost of Food. A Study in Dietaries. *. .nmo, 1 00 

Cost of Living as Modified by Sanitary Science.nmo, 1 00 

Cost of Shelter.nmo, 1 00 

Richards and Woodman’s Air, Water, and Food from a Sanitary Stand¬ 
point. 8vo, 2 00 

* Richards and Williams’s The Dietary Computer.8vo, 1 50 

Rideal’s Sewage and Bacterial Purification of Sewage.8vo, 3 50 

Turneaure and Russell’s Public Water-supplies.8vo, 5 00 

Von Behring’s Suppression of Tuberculosis. (Bclduan.).nmo, 1 00 

Whipple’s Microscopy of Drinking-water.8vo, 3 50 

Winton’s Microscopy of Vegetable Foods.8vo, 7 50 

Woodhull’s Notes on Military Hygiene.i6mo, 1 50 

* Personal H/giene.i2mo, 1 00 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

De Fursac’s Manual of Psychiatry. (Rosanoff and Collins.). . . .Large nmo, 2 50 
Emmons’s Geological Guide-book of the Rocky Mountain Excursion of the 

International Congress of Geologists.Large £vo, 1 50 

Ferrel’s Popular Treatise on the Winds.8vo 4 00 

Haines’s American Railway Management. . ..i2mo, 2 50 

Mott’s Fallacy of the Present Theory of Sound.i6mo, 1 00 

Ricketts’s History of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1824-1894. .Small 8vo, 3 oc 

Rostoski’s Serum Diagnosis. (Bolduan.).. 1 00 

Rotherham’s Emphasized New Testament.Large 8vo, 2 00 

17 














































Steel’s Treatise on the Diseases of the Dog.8vo, 3 50 

The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893.4to, 1 00 

Von Behring’s Suppression of Tuberculosis. (Bolduan.).nmo, 1 00 

Winslow’s Elements of Applied Microscopy.nmo, 1 50 


Worcester and Atkinson. Small Hospitals, Establishment and Maintenance; 

Suggestions for Hospital Architecture .'Plans for Small Hospital, nmo, 1 25 


HEBREW AND CHALDEE TEXT-BOOKS. 

Green’s Elementary Hebrew Grammar.nmo, 1 25 

Hebrew Chrestomathy.8vo, 2 00 

Gesenius’s Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures. 

(Tregelles.).Small 4to, half morocco, 5 00 

Letteris’s Hebrew Bible.8vo, 2 25 


18 
















































































































